


Reassignment [Reaper x Reader]

by SnowIsRandom



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blackwatch (Overwatch) - Freeform, F/M, Fall of Overwatch, Fluff, Overwatch Family, Overwatch References, Overwatch Retribution, Overwatch Uprising, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Romance, Team Talon (Overwatch)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 45,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26751100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowIsRandom/pseuds/SnowIsRandom
Summary: For five years, you had fallen off the face of the Earth despite still walking on top of it. After the explosion, no one came to save you. They all thought you were dead. Those who you called friends, and those who you claimed as even family to you… You thought the world didn’t need heroes, it just needed to heal on its own and that was what you were doing post the experience. Though after a raid on your town in Switzerland, your life becomes compromised and you are forced into the worst decision of your life. Join Talon. All you had been through before did not prepare you for the chaos you were falling into. Bitter allies, untrustworthy friends, and a person with an uncanny appearance that struck you as familiar, Council Member Reaper. You should have bigger issues to keep watch of but as he keeps dodging interactions and confrontations with you no matter the time of day or situation, you still can’t help but want to learn more. Maybe more hides behind the mask that connects him back to you?
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Reader, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Reader
Comments: 29
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1: The New You

**Author's Note:**

> Acknowledgments
> 
> Hello Ladies and gentlemen! It is me. Snow and-
> 
> I-
> 
> You don’t know me. Right, shit. This is not Hollow Knight anymore. Um, alright. True introduction time.
> 
> Hello, familiar and unfamiliar usernames. My name is Snow_Is_Random, Snow, or as you will see me abbreviate: S_I_R. This is just a small note that I put at the beginning of all my new stories to talk about me, and talk about what expectations you should have of me. Though if you don’t care, I already published 3 chapters for you to start off and read anyway. Those should show you what I am capable of and what you should be expecting also.
> 
> To start off on me, I am an eighteen-year-old college student who is studying Communication Media (Journalism) in the fall. I have had a passion for writing since I was extremely young, but I didn’t start until the beginning of 2020 on refining and putting my skills to some good use. I also draw and have been known to animate badly in the past. For the past few months, I had been working on my Hollow Knight fanfics, my most well-known being ‘Nightmares [Grimm x Reader]’. If you are into Hollow Knight lore, even if you don’t like x Readers in that fandom I invite you to check it out since romance is actually my second preference in x Reader books.
> 
> By what I mean by that, is I have a story in mind when making these. Usually, that includes a full-fledged plot and proper story arc making with small dashes of character connection and even a minor love plot. That goes the same for my fanfics. The reason why you’re here is in the title of the book, but that won’t be the only thing I will be serving. I don’t want that to turn you away either but feedback on my other books makes me believe many people are more engaged in a story like that. In the end, it brings a bigger impact to those reading it.
> 
> Now in my past, I have branched myself out to multiple fandoms my most well known on recently being Hollow Knight stories. Overwatch is a complete 180 from Hollow Knight, and I mean that in so many ways. Not only is the setting, characters, and pacing going to be a bit different but the all-around story and mapping process is as well. In Hollow Knight, age was an unused concept, along with time, and technology was nonexistent. Meanwhile, in Overwatch, its entire lore and characters’ lore are wrapped around time and history. When something happened, what age they are compared to the time of events… It is an uncharted and confusing mess. Especially when you try to fit in one thing, but the age of characters or placement of events stop you. Now, I have dug deep into the lore to help me work around these giant traps of plotholes, and for the most part, I am smooth sailing.
> 
> What I am also trying to hint at is that I WILL FUCK UP SO HARD SO MANY TIMES. I am NEW to Overwatch as a game and as a fandom. I will put in my hardest effort to give you guys proper and well-structured chapters, but will they be professionally perfect? No, far from it. I’m technically still a teenager.
> 
> Now if this does get positive feedback from the community, I will much appreciate them in all shapes and sizes. I feed and work off of how much enjoyment my fans are getting out of my writing. The more you guys enjoy it, the more I am willing to keep going and even write more. That was how I ended up writing ‘Nightmares’ in a month despite all the errors it has and I need to really go back and fix.
> 
> To wrap things up and to not hold you all here and bore you out of your mind, I hope you all enjoy, and I will see you all later! Ciao!
> 
> -S_I_R

_“To those we wish to protect, we make the dumbest actions that hurt them. To those we wish to hold the closest, we end up only pushing them away. To those we want to have forever, we end up letting them go… We are our biggest barrier to those we love.”_

****

To ask yourself the question: "When did everything go wrong?", you would be lying to yourself once again. It was still funny how you asked the question nonetheless, then again you were always a curious one. Maybe too curious for your own good.

There you were, once such a strong resilient girl with a soul of natural care... You were more selfless than ever selfish and many adored you for it. Who wouldn't adore a girl who was smart, outgoing, and compassionate far beyond her years? It was no surprise for yourself and others when your studies and passions brought you into the UN's project of heroes, Overwatch.

A young vibrant soul like you, your knowledge, and fearless actions that put you on par with others like you and some older. You grew up with the golden age of Overwatch so joining the organization was the least you could do with your abilities. Your knowledge in technical sciences was what truly brought you onto the team, but your athletic skills and willingness to train was what made you a wonderful candidate for most missions. You wanted to help others like you remember others helping you as you grew up amidst the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis. It was a life you were happy with, and you gained many friends you thought would have your back forever.

That was a lie, as much as that hurt to admit. In a way, it was the answer to your first question. Things went wrong when everyone began to lie. To each other, and themselves. Even you were no saint, lying to yourself that everything was fine and even lying to others when things went downhill. Beneath the surface of everyone, they were boiling... It was only a matter of time before someone exploded. Or something.

You swear you still heard the ringing. Sharp and painful, your body aching the worst pain imaginable. Your uniform ruined and your arms and legs were scarred from debris that trapped you. How long had you been trapped? Hours? Days? You cried for help but no soul heard you... You were dead to not just them but the whole world. Many times of waking up and passing out, you forget how you even managed to escape with a dislocated shoulder, a broken collar bone, and a fractured femur. Those wounds would heal, but the trauma and betrayal you felt wouldn't.

You managed to get away, get help, and just stay dead... You didn't want hope or to be a hero anymore. You just wanted to live alone and to let the world fall away. The world didn't need heroes, at least... You didn't. You would get by. You always would.

Time would pass and you would remain in Switzerland despite the connection it held to you and the Overwatch background you chose to ignore. You had no one else to turn to and nowhere else to go so it ended up being your only option. A year after the incident and you were still recovering from the greater parts of your injuries the news reached you at home. The passing of the Petras act, the disbandment of all Overwatch activity... It seemed the world agreed with you and it did not need heroes. By now, it simply needed time. This was simply for the best, especially if others could not act mature enough for Overwatch to stay in action.

That was the end of your story. Correct? You would stay in Switzerland in your tiny apartment, working just down the street at a small repair shop for technical items... As one year would turn to five, you enjoyed the simple life. You put your knowledge to use in the greatest way possible and while it was not like before, you loved it nonetheless. The end.

What a shame that things don't end when the screen fades to black and the credits roll. It seems that the disbandment of Overwatch was just the beginning. The world was going through another change which was bigger than the last. Another Omnic Crisis, severe terrorist activity, and crime rates soared to their highest. Everywhere around you, the world seemed to be shattering once more but you tried to stand your ground that being a hero was not your calling.

Though in this time, if being a hero is not your calling... Then what is?

****

It was a late Autumn when you were working in the shop at night. It was roughly 11 o'clock at night and you were tinkering on a broken mobile holovid device a kid had dropped off to you that morning. He told you it had stopped working, and he was afraid to tell his mom he broke it, so he heard from his friends that you were good at fixing things like holovid devices and more. You told him you would have it fixed by the next morning, and the look on his face made your heart feel a bit warmer. Though you did wonder how the young boy got gum stuck in the charging port and had broken the parts inside that projected the screen as if he smashed it against a wall... You would probably never know.

"I swear. Some people just never stop impressing me with what they do." You sighed to yourself as you had just placed the panel back on the device and turned it on. The small screen lighting up made a smile come to your face as you had once again gotten something to work after being gone for. It was your greatest skill, and even when others told you something couldn't be fixed you would find a way to do so.

With all the jobs on your checklist complete, you finally could call it a night. You placed the finished device in your drawer to return to the boy the next morning and began to pack up for the night. Your body registering that it was thoroughly tired and worn out from the day's work, you turned the sign from open to closed with a small yawn you stifled with your hand.

As you were pulling the blinds down to hide the store's contents from unwanted eyes, you saw a faint glow in the distance. Not that of sunset or sunrise but it was a warm glow just the same as those were, though with it being 11 o'clock at night you doubted the first two options. Your next thought was that of a fire. It was common in this small town that a fire could spark from time to time, it was just what happened when something went wrong or a stove was accidentally left on. You thought nothing of it since it would not hinder your walk back home.

You shut the blinds, turned off the lights, and after checking everything once over you left the small building labeled merely 'Simple Device Repairs'. It didn't have your name, it wasn't flashy, it didn't draw any attention to you... It was what you wanted. You very rarely gave out your name, and if you did, it was just your first. Out of the billions of people in the world, what would be the chance that someone would recognize your name? Even if someone did claim you were once part of Overwatch, you would simply disagree and claim they had you mistaken. Things would end there for sure. While faking your death was an illegal act, you were claimed to be dead without anyone double-checking with you first. You just took advantage of their mistakes.

The moon was high above you as you wondered what the next day would hold for you as you walked down the empty streets. You had gotten into a nice rhythm of life as you got up early, did your daily chores, worked the shop until late, and then came home. It put your mind at ease and made you float along with life nicely.

A part of you deep down never forgot about your past completely though. When work would be slow or you would be spending time alone at your home, you found yourself fixing up your old weapons from your time as an agent. Or taking out your badly ruined and almost unrecognizable Overwatch uniform you hid in the back of your closet. The azure blue color discolored in some places as the patch had even begun to fray. It also became second nature to carry a concealed weapon with you. Despite the streets where you lived being quieter, there was always a possibility for danger.

Especially now as you made your way down the street in the dark of night. A few street lamps lit the way for you with their soft orange glow, but who knew what lurked in the shadows. In the distance, you could hear sirens. Possibly ones that were dealing with the glow you determined to be a fire earlier. It wasn't anything you needed to work about at least.

That was until you saw people further down the streets running. Screams grew louder and you were deeply concerned now. Children ran and some ran to you and past... That was when you saw the glow was not in one area, but around you. The town was being set on fire and each house followed suit to the next. It was chaos.

You still ran to your home. Maybe you could grab your items and make it out. Maybe you could go back to the shop afterward and save what you could there as well. Though as you reached your home, not yet claimed by the fire coaxing its way up the street, you noticed something even worse... Men and women in matching uniforms kicked women and children out of their homes, grown men laid bleeding on the ground. Many dead. You could not see a single face on one of the uniformed people, but you knew those outfits from your time as an Overwatch agent.

Talon. A radical terrorist group whose sole purpose was to cause and ensue chaos to mold the planet and population how it pleased. The sight of so many made your heart beat with fear. Very few missions you attended did you have to face Talon agents, but when you did it was Hell. Though you took out something from your bag before moving carefully. What it looked like were two identical pistols, though closer inspection would show the wiring and technical infuses you made to have them work better.

Around you, people screamed. Many were in pain, others scared... All of this around you, but you had no will to help. You were no hero. You refused to be one anymore. As selfish as it was, you had to make it back to your home. It was everyone for themselves in this world. That was what being a hero truly taught you.


	2. Chapter 2: Down

It was clear to you from just looking at your house, that someone had already busted in. The front window was shattered and the wooden front door was busted in and basically off the hinge. You would wreak Hell on those who chose to pillage your house, your weapons were drawn and charged… It was now or never. With the sounds of the screaming city behind you, you entered your home which would be littered with danger somewhere.

You did your best to avoid stepping on broken glass, but it was hard with the glass from the front window littering the entire living room. You scanned the first floor from where you stood, which wasn’t very hard since the living room and kitchen connected seamlessly. It left no room for someone to be hidden from your sight other than the half bathroom with its wide-open door. It was clear that it was also empty.

That was when you heard a thump from upstairs. Along the right wall, a set of creaky worn wooden steps lead to the upstairs master bedroom, guest room, and bathroom. Taking two steps at a time, you followed your leading trail of destruction and as you entered your bedroom you saw two Talon members digging through your items, your closet, and had turned your dressers and nightstands over.

Everyone froze, even you as the masked heads of the Talon agents turned to see a woman just staring at them blankly. Both sides armed with guns, though you had the upper hand despite being outnumbered. Your inner instincts from the distant years of training kicked in and you clicked back a lever on your guns as you aimed directly for both men. Before they could even raise their guns in retaliation you pulled the triggers and instead of normal bullets firing, thin and long chains wrapped around them both and were activated to electrocute the men. They crumpled to the ground with screaming and begging and you could only feel your power overwhelm you as you twirled one gun and blew the other as if it was smoking.

“Well… I guess you picked the wrong house boys. Serves you right.” You huffed as you pressed a button on the side of the guns to stop the shocking. The Talon agents which were trapped in chains fell limp and one hissed at you,

“Damn, bitch! You’re so fucking dead.”

“Oh yeah? I would like to see you try and kill me. I want answers… What the Hell are you guys doing here? What kind of plans do you have here, Talon.” You spat back as you walked up to the one that spoke, placed a leg on them which caused them to wince.

“We won’t fucking tell you, now get off of me you fat cow!” He barked back and you went to press the button to turn back on the electrocution, but a sharp pain erupted from the back of your head. It caused your vision to get extremely spotty as you hit the floor and groaned. It took a few seconds for you to regain yourself as you were now on the floor and another agent was undoing the chains put on his comrades.

“You…” your voice was soft and strained as the pain you felt refused to subside. The agent which came in unnoticed to you held a long-barreled gun to your head after chuckling softly. The other two men went back to rummaging through your things as it seemed your life was near its end already.

“Ah, almost had it… Really. Though do you have any last words, missy?” He set his gun and you were about to curse the worst obscenities you could recall at this moment. If you were going down in a fight like this, to Talon agents as well, you were not allowing them to have the dignity of hearing you beg for your life. Though it seems fate was attempting to be kind in the worst way possible. 

“Woah, Woah, Woah…” The one digging through your closet broke into the conversation once more as all eyes turned to him. There, he pulled out the azure uniform you knew too well, and so did they. Fear crossed your face as you were sure if you could see their faces they would express surprise and glee.

“Is that what I think it is?” The one Talon agent with his gun to your head asked as he tilted his head back more to see it.

“Yeah! It has the patch and everything... “

“An Overwatch uniform, I haven’t seen one of those things in over five or six years or whatever.” The one you had stepped on chuckled darkly before eyes turned back to you.

“Now it all makes sense… No normal girl these days has guns like that.” the one holding you at gunpoint hummed.

“I wasn’t a fucking Overwatch agent!” You insisted, in hopes it made your death just quick and painless. If you were useless, they could kill you. Though you heard the tales of Overwatch agents who would get kidnapped and tortured as hostages, and even some becoming brainwashed. If they knew you were an ex Overwatch agent, God only knows what they may do to you. “That belonged to my father, so did the guns.” You continued to lie and the agent holding your old battered uniform examined it closely.

“Looks kinda small for a grown man if you ask me.”

“Exactly.” You felt the barrel of the gun poke the side of your head. No matter how much you tried to sway their assumptions, it was pointless. All you could do was give them a pleading look as you purse your lips into a thin line. “Oi, one of you watch her for me right now, I’ll contact the chiefs back at the ship.”

All you could do was lay there with yet another gun pointed to your head, your pistols too far away for you to reach and fight back. You were helpless, once again with no one to turn to. You were beginning to see the pattern of your life, that no matter how much you stood for yourself or who stood with you, heroism did not matter. It was all a matter of who had more strength over another and at this rate, it seemed bleak for you.

You then heard the Talon agent reenter with a sigh. This was the moment of truth.

“Well, what did they say?” It seemed the one in place of keeping you down was even curious to see what these so-called chiefs wanted done with you. There was a long pause suspended in the air with the man’s heavy footsteps before you felt another sharp pain in the back of your skull and you let out a yelp, but everything was fading fast for you.

“Carry her Ba…” Was all you last heard before things went dark for you for a while.

  
  


****

  
  


_“Y/n, love! I heard you’re really good with techy stuff like Winston! Maybe you can find a way to change the color light my chronal accelerator glows! Like, maybe magenta? OO! Rainbow!” You heard a cheery British voice call. Looking up, you saw one of the women on the Overwatch field agent’s squad approaching your desk. The two of you only had to be a bit more than a year apart at most. Her being twenty-six and you were close to turning twenty-five, and you were still new to some of the members of Overwatch around the base since you had only been there for 3 months. Only a few agents had you gotten to know a bit more about._

_“Oh! Uh, Lena… Right?” you laughed at your unsure greeting, though Lena found it just as enjoyable._

_“Yep! I was joking though. I like the color it is, I just wanted to approach you without seeming like I was bumping into your work. You do seem… Preoccupied? What is that you’re tinkering with?” The optimistic toned woman stood across from you on the other side of your desk, tilting her head to the side which made her spiked short hair bounce a bit. You looked up to her with shining (e/c) eyes._

_“This? Hopefully a new weapon for an agent to use on the field. Come around to the other side, I like to think of them almost like your pulse pistols but not really. I just got the inspiration from them.” You told her as Lena wasted none of your time and stood by you to see what your creation could do. “So, this lever here is what switches the pistol between simple energy bullet shots, and the fun trick it can do. When the lever is up, energy bullets, but when it’s down?” You trailed off as you got up from your seat and moved over to a mannequin-like dummy nearby. Lena made sure to follow, now completely intrigued by the pistol you were making._

_You held it with a steady grip and aimed for the dummy, you carefully pulled back the lever and out sprang a long collection of chains, which enveloped the dummy and locked together. Lena made the sound as if she was a child watching fireworks, oohing and awing over the outcome as she lightly clapped her hands. Though this was not all, as you held up your finger and pressed a button right under the trigger. That activated something in the chains and almost instantly did they begin to glow and spark as they emitted a hum. A hum linked to that of electricity._

_“Oh, my stars! Y/n, that is incredible! I can’t believe you made that yourself! You are a genius…” She complimented you as you held down the button on the gun to call the chains back into the gun. That was honestly the hardest part since it took a lot of meddling with magnets and proper electromagnetic pulses at the proper frequency. You turned back to face her as you had a wide smile on your face._

_“You like it? Amazing! I was thinking of making another, so it can work better in tandem and better suited for battle. If you want, once I made the other, you can use them.” You insisted and Lena paused before giving you a look of gratefulness but guilt._

_“But, Y/n… You made them. You should use them.” She insisted as you walked over to your desk and glanced back to her with a melancholy look on your face._

_“I don’t know if they’ll let me on missions yet. I think they might put me on standby at best but… I can’t be a hero like you. I guess making weapons to help you guys all out is what I was born to do.” You muttered as Lena shook her head frantically._

_“Nu-uh! You’re nuts! I’ve seen you when you join us for training, you’re just as good as the rest of us! With those cool ‘Bzzzzzzt!’ guns? You could join us on missions! And if something of ours breaks, like my chronal accelerator? You could patch me up! I wouldn’t need to be MIA and wait to get back and have Winston fix it!” She pitched the idea with a warm giggle. Despite being a bit older than you, she acted so much more younger and optimistic. You rubbed the back of your neck and shrugged._

_“I would have to bring the proposal up to Commander Morrison, or maybe even Commander Reyes? I don’t know if either would let me.” Your voice held doubt and Lena placed her hands on her hips as she beamed with the purest form of confidence._

_“Nonsense! I’ll help you get on the team! They can be really fun sometimes too! Trust me, you’ll be amazing! A real hero!” She pulled you into a side hug that you could not refuse. As you wrapped an arm around her, the two of you shared a friendly bond. Lena, known to the world as Tracer, would be one of your closest friends until your supposed end._

_“Thanks, Lena. Now I’m starving… What are they serving in the cafeteria today?”_

_“I think pizza? I do hope it’s pizza!” She chimed in as the two of you left your work area._


	3. Chapter 3: Not Out

You awoke sometime later on a cold solid floor with a throbbing pain radiating near the base of your skull. It wasn’t worse than what you had suffered in your life, but it was not the kindest feeling either. Just as you began to peel open your eyes you heard the sound of many footsteps slowly approaching. Two sets of heavy ones and then a lighter pair.

“She’s been out cold for a few hours… I don’t know how well she will cooperate. But Dr. O'Deorain is demanding a time to see her, and she’s growing impatient on what to do with a possible new recruit.” A gruff male voice explained as they all got closer.

“Cállate, don’t worry. Get her something, some bread, and water at least. Alright? Dr. O’Deorain can find other lab rats to tamper on in the meantime.” A female voice replied, her accent clear to you as that of Hispanic origin. She seemed a bit annoyed, or maybe that was just her simple tone… Keys jingled and when you turned to the sound, there stood two Talon agents masked as always and a figure you had never seen before. Most likely the female you heard talking. You had stirred ever so slightly and they all noticed your waking state through the bars that separated, though a door did open after a bit more jingling.

“Buenos Dias, girly!” The female figure stepped in just as they opened the door. Her appearance caught you off guard instantly as you tried to sit up but everything was painful still. What you first noticed were her amethyst colored eyes. Her only biological feature that must have set a chain reaction. Her clothes, the tips of her half-shaved half-grown hair, her makeup, and even the cybernetic implants on the shaved part of her head all held to a theme of purple. The color did compliment her naturally warm skin tone which paired with her accent and solidified your assumption that she was probably of Hispanic descent.

“Who… Who are you? Where am I?” You croaked, your voice was dry and raspy as you had not had anything to drink in who knows how long. The woman didn’t answer right away as she waved at the two agents, the nails on her gloved hand were long, intimidating, but really well done. 

“Ey! Go on! No boys allowed, get her water as I asked, and some food! Close the door, I got this handled.” She muttered the last part as the guards glanced at one another but listened to the woman. Both going off to do as they were told. Once alone the woman rolled her eyes and whispered, “Oh Dios mío, dumbest spawns on the fucking planet I swear, they should start recruiting people with some real brains.” as she rubbed her temple, and took a seat across from you on the cold ground.

She seemed so relaxed and calm as she crossed her legs like a pretzel and her purple painted lips gave you a smile. Meanwhile, you sat there half awake and deeply in pain with a confused expression.

“Hola, you look like you got hit by a train.” She laughed and you were even more baffled.

“Wha-... I-, where am I? Who are you?” You began to ask and the woman pulled up a holo screen from almost out of nowhere. Typing fast so fast that you could not even read anything, let alone it was all backward from where you sat as well.

“Just in a holding cell at Talon’s base. Don’t worry about it, kay?” She shot you a look from over her screen that held a second of ‘you can’t really escape any of this’ which caused you to just look lost and fearful. “So Y/n, right?” She asked her own question without ever giving you hers as you asked.

“How did you-”

“Just a small trick of mine. Y/n L/n, thirty-two years of age, and… Overwatch’s techy prodigy seen on the field who is presumed dead? Ah, God, you agents just love acting dead, huh?” She chuckled and you scooted back from her as she read off your identity like it was all in a book. Your mouth was agape as you failed to try and speak.

“No. I-I’m not… Stop-” 

“No no no, I didn’t mean to scare you Y/n, mi amiga. I’m just a really good friend! Learning everything about you and all. Besides, you’re gonna need a great friend like me here.” She hummed as she moved her screen with her one hand and rested her head on her other hand which was positioned on her knee. Her smile was calm and her eyes shined from the glow of her screen.

“A great friend like you here… How long am I going to be here? I don’t want to be with Talon!” You insisted and the woman made a small joking scoff.

“Well, you’re in no position to leave. Your weapons? Confiscated. Escape? Kinda hard if you ask me. And you’re illegally living a double life, dodging taxes, still had a job I bet too? I’ll be honest, you really did hide a lot of yourself after the explosion, though once I found one thing. I mean. What can I say? I guess I am just a genius.” She rolled her eyes as you could only watch as she pried into you so much.

“Who… The hell are you?” You asked again through clenched teeth and the woman sat up again.

“You? I suppose you can call me Sombra.” Was her only answer as the guards returned and opened the cell door to place in a tray with a paper cup of water and a piece of white bread, literally just a slice. You hesitantly picked up the water and sniffed it, it was your only way to trust it. Even if it was poisoned or drugged, by this point you were so thirsty you would drink it anyway. Your stomach even growled at the sight of the slice of the bread like you had never seen anything more appetizing before in your life. “They don’t drug the water.” Sombra snickered as you began to drink after checking yourself. “Though I wouldn’t trust any dish Dr. O’Deorain if I were you.” She added in a light and chilled out tone.

You set the cup of water back down after chugging already over half of it and began breaking off pieces of bread to eat starting with the crust.

“So, Sombra… You know me. My age, my name, my… Everything I bet.”

“Ah, not everything! Yet…”

“Yeah, so what do you want? I assume Talon people sent you in here to blackmail me so they could have my help?”

“Ding ding ding! Damn, you’re smarter than you look amiga. You’re an ex Overwatch field agent! Part of some successful raids on Talon plans in the past… You have skills and brains which frankly, this place has been lacking. It’s like they hired a bunch of toddlers who can only wield guns.” She waved her hand around as she spoke before giving you a smirk she must have practiced a thousand times before. “Playing dead for five years and dodging your identity, probably tax fraud and you needed to forge a few fake documents to even get to the comfy spot you were living in Switzerland… That could net you a few good long years in prison if word got out. If you stay here and work for us? Not a single soul will know.” She hummed.

It was a convincing reason. If you got caught for the life you ran away from? Prison would not be a kind place to end up in. Though you were raised to be good and aligned yourself as such, how could you just agree to do this? Sombra saw your confliction as your eyes traced the ground you both sat on and soon sighed,

“Look, Y/n you were a hero for simply the wrong team. You're still a good person. Sure, we just met. Though I know that your actions are all for those who need it, even if you don't want them to. Overwatch didn't deserve a mind like you, but here at Talon? We need people like you. You'll still be helping the world… We all are, just in our own ways. Besides, those in your past left you after the explosion if they just claimed you were dead. Does that really make them better than us?" Her eyes changed for a moment. The amethyst orbs in her head which held confidence and calm gave you something someone had not given you in ages. Sympathy. A silence carried over you both until you looked from the floor back up to her.

“I… I’ll do what you want. I don’t have a choice…But I’ll help here.” Your voice was soft and Sombra’s face lit up with joy.

“Ay! Excelente! Trust me, agreeing now would save us from all the trouble later down the line.” She stood up and swiped her holo screen away.

“So, what now? Are you still going to be keeping me in this cage?” You asked as you finished your bread and picked up your cup of water to finish as you stood up with her. Your legs were a bit stiff and sore but as you stood up, you and Sombra saw almost eye to eye though her height was just a bit taller than yours.

“Nah, I should probably bring you to Dr. O’Deorian. That was actually why I came here to talk with you first.” She said as she then went to the bars to signal over the Talon agents on guard here. “Ay! Cabrón! Need a door opening over here!” she called and you stood next to Sombra not seeing her as much of a threat to the naked eye. Then again, looks were deceiving.

“Who is Dr. O’Deorain?” You asked Sombra as the door to your cell was open and she was guiding you out.

“Frankly? Kinda weird. Haha! I’m joking…” She began to walk off with you and away from the guards before muttering, “... Not joking-. But really, it’s probably a health check. If anything hurts on you, don’t complain about it. The wacko will try to run tests on you since you’re new, and they lead to the worst outcomes.” She added as you were now a bit unsettled. Though the name O’Deorain did come to you as oddly familiar. Not like you had ever met the person, but perhaps you had heard of this wacko doctor’s work before? It was extremely unlikely, but it was hard to just say a name sounded familiar without not hearing of something they had done before.

“So I’m really going to work here?” You muttered to yourself as the two of you began heading elsewhere. Sombra shrugged a bit.

“Yeah, that’s easy. And lucky you, being a field agent for Overwatch you don’t need to figure out where to work. You get to come with me and the others on big missions. Isn’t it just swell, amiga?” She then laughed as she slung an arm around your shoulder. She seemed like an over the top woman with a dark sense of humor… Though her aura was just intimidating. Perhaps it was how she knew practically everything about you, but she merely acted like you had known each other your entire lives.

Maybe this was out of pity, sincere kindness, or maybe it was just a mind trick she played. With her painted lips and purple shaded eyes full of tricks and deceptions behind them. Though with nothing else to cling to in this foreign and hostile new territory, she was your only hope. So with that in mind, you awkwardly forced laughed and smiled at her.

“Yeah. Okay. That sounds like a blast. Sure.”


	4. Chapter 4: Checkup

You had only been a part of Overwatch for barely even three years when it all fell apart. It seemed extremely soon, but then again you chose a bad time to join. It was your childhood and your only hope at making something out of your already ruined life. The posters you would see as you walked to school asking for recruits... You saw them before you even knew what you wanted to do with your life, but maybe seeing them was what helped you feel needed. Perhaps it was the purpose you needed. Whatever the case, you were set.

****

  
Sombra tried talking to you as if she had not just blackmailed you subtly moments earlier as the two you walked through the large facility that was the Talon base.

"So tell me Y/n, what did you do until now? Staying in Switzerland sounds like a boring plan..." She glanced at you and you hesitated to answer. You really didn't want to tell her what you did, but she knew so much about you. Her knowledge struck fear into your heart which left you with nothing else to do but tell her.

"I worked at a small shop. I repaired different devices for people who needed things fixed. Holo devices, computers, things like that." You shrugged and she seemed deeply intrigued by your answer.

"Oooo! Interesante, mi amiga. Another smart one, like me..." She laughed lightly and you took that as a good thing.

"So after I see this doctor, what then?" You asked as you scooted a bit closer to Sombra when a group of Talon agents walked past, not paying mind to either of you, but it was in your nature to fear them.

"Well, there is a bit of paperwork and such, and your real placing is up to the Council which Dr. O'Deorain is a part of. Which reminds me, you're going to have to act serious about joining."

"Wait, why?" You instantly interjected and Sombra sighed.

"Just do. If you don't... Well. You wouldn't remember, but for once I want a partner that isn't a husk." She hummed and that was when you came to a quieter and less populated area. It wasn't long until the two of you came to a door with a plaque beside it reading 'Dr. Moira O'Deorain'. The name deeply struck you as familiar. You weren't given enough time to ponder as Sombra knocked on the door with the back of her knuckle and there was a quick response.

"Come in." a low feminine voice hummed. Sombra opened the door and entered with you then. Her posture and expression were as relaxed as always as she crossed her arms and you looked deeply concerned at what awaited you.

"Good afternoon Dr. O'Deorain, I brought the girl the others came back with." Your eyes landed on a tall ginger woman with different colored eyes, one blue and the other amber. Her stature was tall and nimble but that didn't stop her from having an intimidating structure with a narrow and bony face. She turned away from working on what looked like a knocked out Talon operative and pulled back a curtain before you could even tell what she was doing to them.

"Good. Thank you, Sombra. You, come here. Sit down..." She patted a chair much like the one you would see in a doctor's office, but this only made your stomach churn. You swore you saw dark brown stains like dried blood on parts of it, but you knew asking would be pointless.

"Yep. She's a really nice girl, and she said she's willing to join the cause. No persuasion needed. Right, Y/n?" Sombra asked as you sat down in the chair and looked back at her. Her smile was still calm and relaxed as it always was, but you caught the change of look in her eyes. That was when her words came back to you.

_'You're going to have to act serious about joining.'_ , you weren't sure what would happen if you didn't but you trusted her words for once. Especially with the type of look she shot you with now.

"Yeah. It sounds like what I honestly needed." You lied as you tore your gaze away from Sombra and followed Dr. O'Deorain's movements as she moved from table to table gathering paperwork and possible forms. When you said this she looked up to you and you saw how her face crossed with a look of minor surprise.

"What you needed... Why?"

"Well, after all I had been through... I just wish to shape the world. I tried it one way, and that didn't work, so perhaps Talon's views are better suited." You lied through your teeth but with a simple and honest tone, Dr. O'Deorain set something back down as a smile drew onto her long and narrow face.

"Wonderful. I'm so pleased to hear someone say as such about our organization. Especially an ex Overwatch agent." She looked up from a piece of paper as you could only return the smile with a gentle and sheepish one. As Dr. O'Deorain looked back at the paperwork, you glanced over to Sombra who was staring calmly at you with her arms crossed. When she caught your gaze, her lips turned up a little bit with a pleasing acceptance of your answer to the doctor. You didn't know what outcome this would give, but it would probably be better than if you told them your unwillingness to be here.

"Now, Y/n. I just want to run a few tests on you, ask a few minor questions... I have already informed the Council of your appearance and as of now, they are reviewing your status. I'll inform them of your willingness to join which will surely help suede the sides of any unsure Council members. You are not the first ex Overwatch member to turn to our ways after suffering from the abuse at their fall." She sighed before adding, "Though, I see you have no form of improvements to your body... No enhancements, or bodily additions. Correct?" She glanced at you and you could only nod before she hummed and scribbled something down as notes.

"Dr. O'Deorain, if I may speak... She was known for her technological gains to Overwatch. The guns they confiscated after the battle? Her own creations. Abandoned Overwatch files and field proof support it. I mean, if I could make stuff like her? I wouldn't need this tech on me if I could make it and update it myself." Sombra tapped her temple while hinting at her implants that gave her tech-like gear like the holo screen that appeared out of thin air. Dr. O'Deorain gave Sombra a quick glance with a raised eyebrow and didn't respond before looking back at you and observing you.

"Well... You'll just have to tell me all a little bit later about what you have found on the young woman, possibly you have her health information already for me. Though I'll make sure to discuss everything with the Council before we start on anything big. You are a marvelous gain to us, Ms. L/n. A treat that Talon has not seen since Sombra came about us, a little bittersweet treat, but a treat nonetheless." Dr. O'Deorain muttered the last part under her breath but Sombra still ended up hearing as she shouted something in Spanish at the doctor. You could only laugh lightly with a nervous breath before adding.

"Of course, of course... I can't wait for what is in store." You clasped your hands in your lap, still seated in the chair as you wondered what she was planning on doing. Dr. O'Deorain scribbled down a few more notes before tapping her pencil on the clipboard. When she was satisfied she looked back up to you and nodded.

"Alright Y/n. I'll have you get settled into your sleeping quarters. You'll be sharing the empty space with Sombra. Lucky you, I suppose. I'll have someone escort you since I wish to talk with Sombra in private. Thank you for being such a pleasantry, and I'll make sure to get your information passed along to the rest of the Council. Have a nice evening." She hummed while moving over to a holo screen and typing away to probably order someone here to lead you to your new sleeping quarters. As you got up from out of the seat and passed Sombra to exit, the sassy Hispanic woman patted your shoulder and smiled.

"See you back at our room, amiga." She laughed before walking over to have her talk with Dr. O'Deorain. Meanwhile, you took this time to glance briefly over to one of her tables, and you saw what she had lifted up and quickly placed back down when you agreed easily to joining Talon... A syringe of a semi-clear liquid. You did wonder what that liquid was used for as you quickly left the room and waited for someone to guide you back.

****

  
Once you had left the room, Sombra strode over to Dr. O'Deorain and stood across the table where she was typing on a holo screen. She felt a bit more at ease, a bit more in the clear as she crossed her arms and spoke to the doctor that made her skin crawl ever so slightly.

"So tell me doc, what are your plans with the new recruit?"

"Easy, I'll block her memories. Make another Amélie in a sense..."

"Do you think they will let you?" Sombra smirked as O'Deorian looked from around her screen and narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of question is that, Sombra. Why would they not? Not one time with the Council has my requests been denied. Your words insult me with such an assumption." She spat as she closed out the screen and Sombra scoffed and turned to lean on the table.

"Ah, yes. Lo siento doctor. Just keeping her on your toes I guess." She hummed as she did her best to keep a smirk off her face. Dr. O'Deorain never saw this smirk even when Sombra failed to hold it back, the slender woman was cleaning up around her workspace.

"Whatever the case, Sombra, I did not invite you to chit chat. I must bring the woman's information to the Council by this evening. Can you send me her medical records?" She huffed and Sombra brought up her own screen to do so.

"Aye aye, doctor..." and as she brought up Y/n's information, she saw the notes she grabbed from what she had found. The notes Sombra had grabbed made her look over to the clueless Dr. O'Deorain and want to laugh. She would never get her request to completely wipe Y/n. He might have been heartless and cold now, but it made sense why with how she found his name littered around the girl's past. He wouldn't allow it. He didn't allow it before, and he would not allow it now.


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

It was long until another Talon agent came by and silently began to lead you away. You weren’t sure what Sombra and Dr. O’Deorain were discussing, but you still had a lingering feeling that it was about you. The walk with the Talon agent made you wish for the first time Sombra was walking with you instead. She may be a strange and oddly intimidating girl, but she at least could carry a conversation that sliced the silence around you. Now, it was just an awkward walk to your new living quarters as you could only look around the dark and sinister base of operation.

You did not see a single-window anywhere from where you were, which made you wonder if this base was underground? It would make sense to put it underground since it would conceal its location better for enemy eyes. As you looked around, you would catch some others eyeing at you. Then again, you were still in your clothing from the day prior, and you probably looked worse for wear. Despite all the stares, you continued to walk with the assigned agent who never spoke let alone acknowledged you. The only way you knew he was the one to lead you away was the fact that he would glance back to make sure you were following him.

Soon you came to a large room with bunk beds lining the entire room in three rows, one row against each wall and an awkward row in the middle. This was not the only room like this as there were a few more like it, though you didn’t stop in these simpler and military-like barracks. Instead, you came to a code locked door which the agent punched in and motioned you.

“Here you go. Her room is the third on the right. If it’s locked, well… tough luck and wait for when she gets back. I’m not allowed past this point.” His voice was gruff and filled with slight annoyance as he was already turning away. You bit the inside of your cheek at his tone but didn’t dare speak up. Instead, you turned and entered the next hallway that had a few sets of doors. Four on each side, which lead you to know that the third on the right would be the room you and Sombra would share. As you moved to the proper door and tried the doorknob, you were instantly taken by surprise over the fact it turned and allowed you to open up into the room. With how Sombra came off to you, you actually suspected to have it locked out of simple knowledge. Then again, looks were deceiving.

That claim only solidified as you entered the room and shut the door behind you. It was roughly the size of a bedroom, maybe a bit bigger due to how two beds occupied opposite walls. Despite there being two beds, you were a bit confused about which one was meant to be yours since they equally had junk and objects tossed onto them. The beds were not the only surfaces to have junk thrown around the place, as the floor was littered with different assortments of clothing, shoes, weapons, and just random objects. A desk closer to one of the beds had wrappers, cans of soda, and empty food containers scattered around it which made you assume Sombra spent a good amount of time at her holo computer doing whatever she did.

The room did have a nice feeling about it. A black leather loveseat against one wall at the end of the other bed, with a TV positioned across from the loveseat. Two doors were placed on the far back wall, one possibly a closet, and the other may be the door to a bathroom. You tried your best to step into the room without stepping on any of Sombra’s clothes, but it was difficult to do so. Your eyes scanned the walls that were filled with random posters and even clipped newspaper articles, around the top border, a strip of LED lights rand along all around the room. It was well put together, and it did feel a bit more like a living space than the rest of the Talon base did.

As you were observing some of the newspaper clippings and trying to read them, a voice startled you.

“Hola amiga, glad you found the place.” Sombra’s voice was sudden and caught you off guard as you let out a sharp yelp and spun around. She was just there. No noise, no shuffling from opening the door or walking in.

“H-how did you just show up?” You stammered as Sombra picked up something from the floor, something you didn’t exactly pay mind to when you entered the room. She gave you a squinted look, one that read: ‘Are you that easy to scare?’

“Um, magic? I dunno, what do you want me to tell you, Y/n. I have my little tricks.” She waved the metallic object around a bit as she said this to hint at its use. You sighed and glanced away from her to still observe the room, and she went to set the object on her desk. “Alright, uh… This is my bed, this one is yours. I just need to get my things off of it. I wasn’t expecting a roommate.” She moved over to the bed opposite to the other bed with the desk near it. “Honestly, I would have tidied a bit but I got placed with handing you off to Dr. O’Deorain,” Sombra added as she cleaned off the bed to give you a place to live and sleep. You could only stand there in fear of picking up something she didn’t want you to. You still cleared your throat and spoke up,

“About Dr. O’Deorain… What were you two discussing, if I may ask?” Your voice was gentle and soft as you began to lower your nerves around Sombra. The purple-themed woman looked up to you and gave you a smile, the usual relaxed smile that fit her well.

“Ah, don’t worry. Just some stuff, like your blood type and medical things from Overwatch. No need to get poked with needles and such if you don’t need to, right?” She told you before successfully finishing the cleaning to reveal a decent bed with simple and thin sheets. “If you want, I think I have some spare pillows and blankets in the closet. I had to buy them myself because we all know Talon doesn’t care. It’s whatever, but Y/n! How do you feel about getting to work here now… It’s not official yet, but they hardly turn down new and promising agents.” She muttered something else in a different language under her breath before you answered,

“I suppose this is a new experience. I have nothing else to lose, now do I?” You sighed while sitting on the edge of your new bed. Sombra opened the closet between her desk and your bed to grab the blankets and pillows. As she tossed a pillow at you she smiled widely.

“That’s the spirit mi amiga! Think fast!” Though it wasn’t soon after you would get a soft pillow to the face with a bit of force behind it. It earned a small yelp out of which made Sombra break out laughing. You lowered the pillow and instantly felt a true smile come to your face. It was strange how a pillow to the face gave such a comforting and friendly atmosphere.

“Thanks, Sombra. You really don’t need to do this, so it’s nice of you to do so.” You told her and her amethyst eyes expressed a pure surprise for just a second before she smiled once again.

“Ah, no need to thank me. The base has been really lame as of lately, so having someone with a bit of humor and a personality is a blessing here.” She handed you the rest of the bedding. They were soft and when you placed them on the bed, you got a whiff of rose perfume and the musk of when things lingered in the closet for months at a time. It wasn’t a bad smell, but it felt a bit more real. Like many things in Sombra’s room, they were also ranging in shades of purple. Every now and then you saw accents of blue in some articles of clothing, or a stuffed animal, or a pillow… Though purple was clearly her go-to color, which did fit her well.

“You said that I’m not officially an agent yet… Is this what the Council will talk about like Dr. O’Deorain said?” You glanced across the room to Sombra who had taken a seat on her bed with her legs crossed.

“Si, the Council decides everything Talon does, gets and goes after. This includes new operative agents, which are a greater asset than their run of the mill trooper agents. You being an ex Overwatch member turns the tides even more… Those are hard to come by now a day since they are either all off doing who knows what or claimed to be dead like you were.” She told you as you followed her actions and after putting the sheets and pillows on your bed you also sat on your bed with your legs crossed.

“Am I really that important?” You quired and Sombra smirked at you.

“Hun, trust me… You’re much more important than you believe.” She told you as she got up and stretched. You expression shifted to that of confusion as you asked,

“How do you know that?” Sombra chuckled with a slight shake of her head.

“Ah, just a hacker’s intuition. Why don’t you change your clothes and take a shower, we can go get some dinner. I bet you're hungry and so am I." she motioned to the other door which must have been the bathroom you guessed earlier. It was clear she wasn't going to tell you what she meant, but you could only agree with her suggestion and went to go get a shower.

"Wait, do you have any clothes that fit me?" You stopped to ask just before entering the bathroom.

"Yeah yeah, here. Though don't complain if they're tight. They're some older things I had." She dug through her closet again and tossed you what looked like a pair of black leggings and a white t-shirt. With that, you entered the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

Sombra took a seat at her desk in the meantime, and when she heard the showerhead become alive with running water she put on her headset. It was time to peek into the meeting.

  
  


****

  
  


The room was dimly lit and the noise within was extremely minimal. At the table sat the well known and even feared to some extent, Council of Talon. Many different members, humans, omnics, and unknown… Sombra had set up a camera in this room after a personal mission and it fed her all the information she needed on this group. The information others heard simply and the information that didn’t make it out the door, she loved it all.

Her eyes along with the many others actually in the room trained to a large ebony man with a cut jawline and strongly built muscles. His entire aura radiated intimidation and power as he entered the room and looked directly at the empty chair.

“Where is Moira?” He asked in a low voice with a lingering Nigerian accent.

“I believe she is gathering information on the new find, someone brought back from the Switzerland raid.”

“I thought it was meant to be a heavy clean up on the rouge ex-members from Vialli.” He grew irritated as the other simple human man kept calm for now.

“Trust me, she will be the field operative we need. New, smart, and renowned for her flexibility and quick thinking… If Moira can wipe her completely, we will have a set in stone operative team for Talon.”

“Who is she?” A voice much darker and slower spoke up from across the table of the other man. Though before the defending man could answer, the sound of a door opening caused eyes to shift once more as the echoed clicking of heels could be heard.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and Akande, sir. Forgive me for my lateness, I was-”

“I have heard of your bringing of good news, Dr. O’Deorain. Before we talk about the failures this past month, bless us with something brighter.” Akande waved a large hand as a motion for Moira to take her seat. In the Irish woman’s arms were multiple manila folders with documents. She passed the pile around the table and began speaking as she opened her own and cleared her throat.

“Last night, Talon members from squadron Delta raided the far end of Thun, Switzerland to destroy ex Talon agents. In the progress, much of the town was tossed and much in shambles after they needed to revert to looting the homes. Though in one of the homes, they came across a woman in her early thirties with weapons seen as in observance one in the documents given.” She started with a calm tone and Sombra smirked. It was like she was on the edge of her seat just watching to see his body language for any change, they all looked at the first observation and some tilted their heads in interest and others like him didn’t even shift. Moria continued either way,

“She was captured and detained, placed into a holding cell upon returning here. What was also brought to our eyes, was what was in her home at the time of the raid. Tattered, but still recognizable, was an old official Overwatch uniform.” Moira looked across the table to him. Only they had known the deepest parts of the dead organization. Though once the ‘O’ name was uttered, Akande seemed to finally perk up and listen in. “I had Sombra scan all she could find with the face of the woman as her only lead, and to no doubt, she found her identity. Claimed to be deceased, in our possession we have Y/n L/n. Well known and successful field agent of Overwatch.” Moira smiled darkly as she glanced at Akande and asked, “What do you say, Akande? Do we keep her? When questioned, she does sound willing.” Knowing damn well what the answer to her question would be. She was only asking for fairness, but she was never denied her actions here.

Sombra wished she had a bag of popcorn as she loved the tension she felt in the room. The irony, the sweetest thing she saw unfold. He was breaking ever so slightly, the grip on the passed out information was tight as he knew he had to keep his calm. He couldn’t break, but he knew for damn sure she was gone. He found Ana and Morrison, but never her… How could she too be alive? Though it seemed no one could believe the find despite the differences in knowledge. Akande rose a hand to call attention to the table and his low booming voice broke out to them all.

“We do need a new Operative Agent with the plans we are to be expecting. Does the Council approve to gain the addition of this, Y/n L/n? Say aye.” He paused and a chorus of ‘aye’s came out. It would be stupid not to, even he said aye since denying her full entrance to the team would mean she would just be tortured or killed. Even now, even after all this time… He couldn’t be that cruel to her. Never… “Those opposed, say no?” Akande paused again and the silence was the only answer he needed. “Then it is decided, the operative is passed. At the end of the meeting, I simply wish to meet her to see if she is as worthy and open to joining as you said, Moira.” He hummed and Moira let out a hollow chuckle.

“That brings me to my next point…” 

Oh no.

Sombra’s eyes widened ever so slightly as she bit the inside of her cheek. This was the moment of truth as she hoped he would do what she hoped he would. Moria continued on,

“I can do what I did to Amélie to create yet another strong and well-secured member for Talon.”

“Dr. O’Deorain, if you could do that, do you really think you could preserve her knowledge to make incredible weapons like described in her background?” Another Council member asked and Moria’s smirk shifted to a scowl. 

“Do not doubt my work…” Was her only warning with a tone that even made Sombra shiver. She knew almost everyone feared Moira for what she could do to even the strongest men. Not only that, but Akande had his faith in her.

“Before trouble starts at the table, we will pass a vote. Though it will need to be unanimous as usual. All those in favor of Dr. O’Deorain’s plans, say aye?” Akande asked across the Council and Sombra crossed her fingers, the showerhead shut off and she knew she didn’t have much time to keep watching if you exited the bathroom. A volley of aye’s trickled in response and Moira’s expression held that of pure blind confidence. “Those opposed, say no?”

“Ándale, Gabe… I know you dude, just say it. Estúpido...” Sombra groaned as she was even growing impatient. She couldn’t be wrong! She was never wrong… Or maybe she just overlooked her data, and Moira would come out on top.

“No.” A gruff voice interrupted the silence and Sombra wanted to cheer but out of fear of alerting you, just threw her arms in the air out of joy. Moira’s gaze fell across the table as Akande looked to the owner of the voice as well.

“Reaper… You don’t agree with the plan?” He started and all eyes fell on the one figure most never noticed. He was well with just seeming like he appeared and vanished as he pleased, though for once he was just there.

“I don’t, no hard feelings Dr. O’Deorain, but trust me… We know how Y/n did her work. She doesn’t need to be tampered with if we need her to do as she did for Overwatch, especially if you said she was willing to join Talon. Tampering her would risk the weapons she can make.” His low gravelly voice never faltered as he placed the papers given to him on the table. Moira’s eye twitched with a hint of anger and Sombra had never felt more respect for her Commanding Officer before in her time at Talon.

“Do you believe she is prepared for what we could be facing? She has not had physical action like this in five years and to throw her in with no modification?”

“She doesn’t need training, I’ll work with her like I do the rest of her Operative team.”

“Amélie has been remodeled, and Sombra has her own skills as do the others. Your points are flawed, Reaper.”

“I never disrespect your work doc, but I won’t let you disrespect mine,” Reaper growled lowly which made Akande chuckle.

“That’s enough, Reaper… Your training and capabilities are high. For now, we’ll leave the young girl in your attention. Though if she fails, we will resort to Moira’s work. Intelligent or not, we cannot have a wolf in our pasture. Understood?” He looked to Reaper with dark eyes and once again there was a silence that stifled the room.

“Understood.” The masked man grumbled and turned back to see Moira tap her papers on the desk with an unsatisfied look. Moira lost, which meant to Sombra that she won.

“Now, let us get the rest of the meeting underway-.”

  
  


****

Sombra moved like lightning to cut the meeting’s feed as she pulled up a completely irrelevant tab. The bathroom door opened and you stepped out with wet hair that you dried with a towel loosely. The clothes of hers you wore fit you decently well as you overall looked a bit more cleaned up and polished.

“Hola! All clean? Sweet, I was starving.” Sombra smiled at you as you saw nothing wrong.

“Yeah, lemme just slip my shoes back on. Thanks for lending me these clothes, you’re making this whole situation less bad than it would usually be.” You chuckled, sitting on the edge of your bed to put on your shoes as Sombra turned off her computer and stretched.

“Aw, no need to thank me amiga! I’ll make sure your time here is a blast. Now hurry the fuck up. For someone who only has eaten bread and water in the past twenty-four hours, you are so slow to get food.” She joked with you and it earned yet another genuine smile paired with a cheeky giggle.

“Okay, okay. I’m ready. Let's go amiga.” You retorted and Sombra rolled her eyes sassily.

“You are learning way too damn fast. Next, I’ll teach you phrases to say behind other agents' backs when they piss you off.” And with that, the two of you left the room chatting along the way and making simple jokes. While you weren’t sure of your status here, Sombra knew how quick you would be to turn all of Talon on its head.


	6. Chapter 6: Accepted

The two of you sat at a table alone as a few other soldiers ate more close together further away. Seeing them with their usual helmets off really made you surprised, and Sombra smirked as she ate her food.

"What. Thought they didn't have faces?" She snickered and you looked back at her sharply.

"I wasn't that stupid, Jesus Christ. I've never seen them take those off." You defended yourself while picking up some leaves of lettuce from the salad you were eating. Sombra had gotten a chili of some kind along with a sandwich. You were starving but you didn’t want to overstuff yourself. Besides, you weren’t sure if you could truly trust everything here. Like a lost puppy in a new home, you were skittish and hesitant of every little thing you did. Sombra shook her head and her purple-tipped hair shifted with it before she looked around. “Is something up?” You asked her mid chewing though you covered your mouth slightly with your hand so not to be completely rude.

“Nah, it’s nothing… Just thinking of something. You ask a lot of questions, ya know?” Sombra replied as she locked gazes with you and you swallowed your mouthful of salad.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“I mean what I said, it’s not bad. It’s good to ask questions, but asking the wrong ones to the wrong people, well… It’s just asking for trouble then.” She chuckled and shook her head. You were close to finishing your salad when a basic talon agent approached your table.

“Agent Sombra, the woman with you has been called upon.”

“Oh? By who?” Sombra set her spoon down for her chili and you looked up to the agent with a confused expression. 

“The Successor wishes to speak with her. The Council just finished with their meeting for tonight.” He glanced at you and you felt bile creep up the back of your throat. They had decided on a fate for you and you would have to go and see. Sombra stared him down despite sitting and being shorter than him, though a soft smile crept on her face.

“You can have her. Y/n, behave. I’ll be back in the room.” She stood up and you were clearly nervous but still, you stood also and went to follow the agent. Not before Sombra grabbed your shoulder and whispered to you.

“Remember, you wanna be here. More than anything. Put on a good fucking act amiga, I’ll see ya back at the room.” She patted your back and went on her way and you went on yours. Her words made you feel a bit more in control of your situation, though you knew what it would have to take to make it real. You wanted to be here… It was either this or death.

After a decently long walk to the bottom floor of the underground building… You realized how ominous Talon really did seem. Red banners hung on the beams as the cold walls were empty. It was completely different than what the Overwatch headquarters were like. The clean and postered walls with signs for where you were going. It felt much more at home than this place did.

You and the agent came to a large wooden door that they knocked on. A short pause was soon followed by a brief,

"You may enter." The agent opened the door for you but instantly left afterward. You were alone in whatever interaction this was. You entered the room and before you were what you would see in some top-notch office for someone in charge. The large wooden desk, the walls with shelves of some items, and a man sat behind the desk looking to you with a small smile. His large form and yet calm demeanor made you feel as you did when you first met Sombra. How could everyone here be so calm all the time? You felt like anything but calm.

“Ms. L/n. I have heard a lot about you from Dr. O’Deorain, and he made reports on you.” His thick Nigerian made it a bit difficult to hear him at first but luckily he was articulate enough with his English to help the words click to you.

“Um. Yeah… I think Sombra helped her. She said something about having my files… Sir.” You laughed nervously, a bad habit you had when in hard and stressful situations. The entire time in this room, you felt like you were already suffocating. Though it was just you and this man who you assumed to be The Successor. Once you made your comment on Sombra giving her the files he chuckled deeply.

“Ah, yes. Of course. The master hacker is our biggest system of knowledge. A troubling little woman she can be… Take a seat Y/n. We’re here to talk about you, aren’t we?” He motioned to two seats in front of you, taking one and sitting down. You still held tension in your body language, but ever so slightly did the feeling of nervousness and anxiety start to die down. Though some sort of feeling did linger. The Successor kept a calm smile and began to speak again. “You have really come to us as a grand surprise… It’s not every day an ex Overwatch member falls to Talon with the mindset to join.” He began and you brushed a bit of hair from your face as you spoke.

“I suppose fate is a funny thing. After what happened five years ago, I suppose how I perceived the world changed. What I really wish to do is shape the world, and finally do it how it should have been done years ago.” You pushed your voice to be strong and sat up just a bit more in your seat as you met The Successor's stone-cold eyes which shifted with being impressed and deep in thought. He saw no flaw in your words, yet.

“Well, I suppose fate is a funny thing. Your skills from your past, how confident are you in them still?” He asked next and you pondered that question before deciding to just keep fibbing.

“I can still do it. Years of training prior doesn’t go to waste, sir.” You forced a small smile and The Successor hummed lowly as a response.

“You better Ms. L/n… The Council has voted you into the Operative’s team. Once as a field agent for Overwatch, you will now be apart of Talon’s field agent team. Just in time for missions that we have been planning for a small-time now.” He got up and you saw The Successor’s gauntlet on his right arm, it only made him more intimidating. He took up some paperwork from a table behind him and turned back. “You will begin training with your teammates by tomorrow.” He added as he placed the paperwork on the desk and slid it across the surface to you. Two places were marked for you to sign, and you knew how real this was now. You were becoming a member of Talon…

“Training… Alright. Who trains us?” You asked with a nervous laugh as you took a pen up, about to sign. Though a chill went down your spine that left you with an unpleasant feeling. The sound and feeling of someone placing a hand on the back of your chair caused you to jump and turn your head back. The air from your lungs seemed to vanish as you looked up to see a masked and dark figure looming over you. While you were paralyzed in fear with wide eyes, The Successor chuckled.

“Your Commanding Officer, and a part of the Council… Reaper. No need to scare the girl, yet.” He hummed as you looked back to The Successor with a nervous laugh.

“W-Wow. Where did he come from?” You wondered truly since he seemed to come from nowhere. Was he the strange presence you felt in the room? The door never opened while in here, how did you not notice him?

“He is a strong member who we leave in charge of our Operative team. He has led many successful missions. You will show him respect as you would me…” He responded with a stern look and the man labeled as Reaper shifted away from you which made you sit up straight in your seat once more and look back at him. You couldn’t see his face, or any part of his body shrouded in the black-cloaked clothing he wore. Though he did successfully come off as intimidating… Two holstered guns, and just a figure that radiated a deadly seriousness. Something else lingered with him though, but at this moment you couldn’t pin it as he saw you eyeing him up and Reaper crossed his arms.

In fear of angering your new Commanding Officer, you looked away quickly and turned your attention to the paper you were given to sign. You took a nervous breath and placed the pen on the first line to sign. You had no time to read what you were signing, which could be a death sentence in fancy writing for all you knew… But you had no choice. As with everything here, you had no place to argue about your fate. You were at the mercy of Talon, which its mercy seemed to be siding with them to earn their favor. You quickly scribbled your signature down and once done The Successor took up the papers.

“Wonderful, welcome to Talon Y/n L/n. You’ll make us proud.” he nodded to you and all you could do at the moment was force a small smile.

“Thank you, sir. I won’t let any of you down.” You breathed out as calmly as you could, but your hands were trembling in your lap and your knees began to bounce ever so slightly. Hopefully, no one noticed.

“Well, you are free to go back to your assigned room… Training is at dawn. Reaper does not appreciate his men being late to training.” The Successor mused as he took his seat and you stood up to leave. It seems he didn’t see you as nervous at all, though as you glanced to your Commanding Officer once again… He clearly had been watching you close the whole time. You could only pray what he saw in you was good. You pressed your lips into a timid smile and nodded to Reapers as your head to the door.

“I am pleased to be working with you, sir. I will be at training tomorrow at dawn, don’t you worry. Have a nice evening.” You bid farewell, and as the man never even shifted let alone responded you just let yourself out quickly. Your heart beating like a hammer in your chest as you sped walked away and hoped you had not just made yourself look like a complete dumbass. Your position here was secured for now, but you knew one slip up would leave you as live target practice.

You had no time to worry about it, as you had to get back to your room with Sombra and head to bed. Tomorrow morning was training and you couldn’t be late.


	7. Chapter 7: Painted Memories

_“Happy Birthday, Y/n!” Lena shouted first as you came into the wide meeting area from out of your office. You yelped as the others joined in and you placed a hand on your chest with a nervous giggle. Everyone seemed to be here to greet you on your big day, your 25th birthday. You had almost forgotten it as well since after you turned a certain age, your birthday became the least of your worries. Though seeing everyone crowded in the main area with a large frosted cake on the table, you felt your chest become warm with such a feeling. Angela came up to you, her angelic smile and kind expression seeing yours of panic briefly._

_“Y/n, sorry if we startled you. We just wanted to celebrate your first birthday here with us! It’s never too young for a party.” She took up your hand and your nervousness melted away. She seemed like an older sister to you, a sister you never got to have._

_“I-it’s fine Angela. Thank you.” You told her as she brought you to the cake where everyone stood around. Lena bouncing up and down, Winston was behind her trying to keep her calm, Reinhardt and his closest friend Torbjӧrn already drinking from the beer bought for the special occasion. Even members you rarely saw or were placed with on missions like Mccree and Genji also stood around, though very rarely did you ever get to speak to either of them._

_Your Commander, Jack Morrison even stood nearby with a calm smile as your leader figure, you looked up to him greatly._

_“Happy birthday, Y/n.” He informed you as he patted your back causing you to let out a soft chuckle._

_“Thank you, sir. Thank you everyone for doing this for me!” You managed to say before Lena butted towards you and handed you a small plate with two cupcakes on it. One had a candle in the shape of a two, the other in the shape of a five. Both were lit, which gave you the reminder you would get to make a wish on them as you knew what this would lead to._

_“Alright! A-one, a-two-.” Lena counted off and thus started the off-key and horribly sung ‘Happy Birthday’ song you had not heard in what felt like ages. You smiled sheepishly as Angela clapped along, and the chorus of different accents came to you. It didn’t surprise you either that Winston was the one to awkwardly add the ‘cha-cha-cha’ after almost every line. It caused your smile to grow and your face to heat up as this group of highly trained heroes of the Earth had become your second family to replace the first you would never see again. All of you had come from different backgrounds, all of you had come from bad if not the worst situations in life…_

_No matter the case, the past never mattered. You were surrounded by people you saw as family and friends here._

_“...Happy Birthday to you!” They ended and laughter and hearty cheering filled the air before Ana chimed in with her calm and motherly wise voice._

_“Make a wish Y/n.” Her aged smile reminding you of your mother’s from long ago._

_“Come on, love! Make a wish!” Lena encouraged and you took a moment. Thinking briefly as your eyes crossed the room full of different faces. Ana’s calm composed one, Commander Morrison’s stern but proud expression, Angela’s sweet sisterly smile, Mccree’s relaxed and amused look, though one face looked less than amused by this event. It didn’t surprise you though… Commander Reyes barely smiled around any Overwatch member after things had gone downhill in ways you were not told. Something had gone wrong weeks ago._

_Sometimes, you wondered why he was always like that. Sometimes, you wondered if there was a way to change him. He was decades beyond your age, but the little humor you heard from him would make you giggle and the times he complimented your work after starting as a field agent made your chest feel light and pride came to you. He was a strange man, but you were not normal either. No one here was._

_You closed your eyes and thought up a wish… One coming to you after a bit of thought._

_**‘I wish to be surrounded by those I love and who love me forever. I wish to always have my new family and never forget about them.’** You thought to yourself before opening your eyes briefly and letting out a quick puff of air with ease. The light from the two candles died away and all that was left from them was the smoke that lifted into the air from the burning wicks. The group cheered once again and Angela picked up a knife and serving spatula to cut the cake. Everyone began chatting to one another or still looked on to you since it was your big day…_

_“Angela? What flavor is the cake?” You asked her and she gave you a cheeky smile._

_“Remember a few weeks ago during your check-up when I asked you randomly what your favorite flavor of cake was?” She winked and you were in awe over her planning._

_“Oh wow, you didn’t!” You said with a laugh as she cut a piece of cake to prove to you that it was your favorite flavor. After giving you the first slice, Lena spoke up once again._

_“Winston and I also put our heads together and we got you this! You should open it!” She put her hands together and awaited your reaction. Setting the piece of cake down, you could see how it was a framed picture of the field agent team you had been a part of for barely 6 months. Everyone had come back from a big mission successfully done and was ready to celebrate, in the image Lena pulled you in close despite you trying to sneak away shyly to avoid getting your picture taken, nevertheless everyone was smiling and happy._

_Despite your short time with them all, you had never felt closer to everyone in Overwatch._

  
  


_****_

  
  


_Everyone had settled down into seats and you sat with Angela and Lena as the group of girls who seemed to mesh together well. Lena’s high strong and bubbly personality, Angela’s sweet and careful personality, and your timid and purely kind personality. The three of you now finished off your second slice of cake and Lena eyed up the two cupcakes on the plate you had gotten Angela to wrap up for later._

_“Soooo, Y/n. Are you gonna eat both cupcakes? Angela’s baking is heavenly, I want the other!” Lena pleaded and you picked up the plate out of fear she would help herself._

_“Lena, come on… I’m not usually selfish, but what if I wanted to share one with someone else?” You spoke hypothetically but Lena took it another away._

_“Do you like someone? Is that why you want the other?” She gasped and Angela leaned over._

_“Now now, Lena. Don’t bother Y/n. If she wants to give one to someone she likes, she will-.”_

_“It’s Mccree, wait. No. Genji, you seem like the type of girl to like boys with a dark past, but I would look out for Angela. I think she has her sights on him- Eek!” Lena zipped back a bit as Angela had thrown a pillow at her rambling. You couldn’t help but laugh as Angela only huffed and looked down at you._

_“Don’t let her bother you, I made the cupcakes for you as well as the cake. It is your birthday, you can give them to who you please. And I do not have a thing for my patients, Lena. It goes against my oath.” Angela spoke a bit louder as she glared playfully at Lena who walked back over and shrugged._

_“Aw, come on doc! Doesn’t hurt to think about it! And Y/n is so quiet all the time, I just wanna know who she might have her eyes on.” Lena sunk back into the sofa you all were sitting on in the main recreational area. Not far away, everyone else a bit older drank responsibly and chatted the night away. People like Genji and Winston turned in for the night since they weren’t ones to party or socialize, normally. It was getting late and people were starting to turn in, though tonight made you anticipate your next birthday. You couldn’t wait until next year or until the next big holiday came around which also brought fun and a family-like feeling._

_“I don’t have my eyes on anyone, I just didn’t want you eating my cupcakes. Your birthday is coming up anyway, you’ll get your own for your birthday.” You defended and Lena sighed._

_“True, and hey. I will probably get to have a ton of more birthdays due to my accident.” Tracer rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she looked at the chronal accelerator she had to keep near her on the table. As far as you could learn, she was still just as young as she looked when you first came here. When you learned of her accident before your time, it then began to make sense for you._

_Angela broke the conversation with a soft yawn as she rubbed the side of her face._

_“Alrighty, well… I am exhausted after making the cake and all the goodies for today. Don’t forget your gifts here Y/n, or Lena may eat the chocolates I got you.” She looked to Lena with a smirk and Lena piped up to defend herself. You could only laugh at the actions of your teammates before Angela rose to her feet and patted your head gently. “Happy Birthday, Y/n. Night night, don’t stay up too late, you too Lena.” She insisted and Lena rose to her feet and stretched a bit._

_“Yeah, I was gonna check on Winston then get to bed. How about you Y/n?” Lena looked down at you and when you checked the time you saw how it read 12:09 am. It really was that late, how time flew…_

_“I was gonna thank a few of the others for the gifts and then get to bed. Have a nice night you two.” You waved and they both parted with you, leaving you to get up and collect all your gifts. Putting them in the giant gift bag that Angela’s gift came in. Angela gave you two really nice novels you wanted, Reinhardt had gotten you an ancient disc filled with classical music which you knew you would never play but the sentimental value was there, Torbjӧrn had his wife send some baked goods over and from Angela’s reaction, you knew you would have to hide them from her… All around, you loved the gifts everyone had gotten you._

_You went around and thanked everyone for the evening before leaving the recreational room for the evening. As you were walking away with the bag of gifts hanging from the crook of your arm and the plate of cupcakes held with the hand on the opposite arm, you noticed two figures in the hallways further down._

_One sat on the ledge of the large window, they must have been just looking outside as they sat on the ledge with one leg propped up on the ledge and the other keeping them balanced on the ground. The other figure you could label right away as Mccree from the hat stood in the hallway and was talking to the sitting figure as he waved around a bottle of beer from the party. His southern accented laughter flooded the hallway as you approached him and saw that who he was talking to was Commander Gabriel Reyes. You knew he had left as soon as the cake was served, but you didn’t know he was still lingering nearby._

_Their eyes both landed on you and Mccree smiled wider._

_“Ayyyy! Howdy birthday girl! Where you head’n?” Mccree chuckled and you could only smile softly and chuckle at his slightly drunken state._

_“I was just going to my room to turn in for the night. I want to thank you guys also for coming to celebrate, I haven’t had a party let alone celebrated my own birthday in ages. So this really made my night.” You told them, glancing from Mccree to Reyes and back to Mccree after you awkwardly made eye contact with Reyes. While Mccree seemed to be having a blast, Reyes looked tired and mildly agitated. You wondered if it was from you showing up or if it was from having to deal with a drunk Jesse Mccree for however long they had been talking._

_“Ah, okay. Cool, cool…” Mccree chuckled again as he looked back to Reyes and the Commanding Officer sighed._

_“Jesse, go to bed. Training is still at dawn. Understood?”_

_“Aye aye, sir! Uh, fuck.” Mccree tried saluting him with the hand that had a beer in it and looked at the half-finished beer with such sadness since he had to get to bed, you had to hold back the urge to giggle. Mccree looked back to you with no words before he just handed you his bottle of unfinished beer. “Here you go, missy. I forgot to give you a gift so have this. On me. Night Reyes.” Mccree waved to his Commanding Officer which prompted him to narrow his tired eyes as the cowboy._

_“It’s Commander to you.”_

_“Yeah yeah… Night.” Mccree hummed and went on his way for the night. In your once empty hand, you now held Mccree’s mostly drunk beer. An awkward smile on your face as you looked back to Reyes as it was now just the two of you._

_“I-I mean. At least he got me something.” You laughed off the awkward interaction and glanced away from making eye contact. Lucky for you, Reyes looked back out the window._

_“Yeah, sorry for not getting you anything. Buying gifts isn’t my thing.” He shrugged and you stepped a bit closer to look out the window also, but still have the chance to redeem yourself socially._

_“Oh, it’s fine. Sir. I understand. I’m terrible at buying gifts for others, and I’m not used to getting gifts on my birthday anymore anyway.” You told him and he glanced back, his eyes were hard to read but they always gave off the feeling that he didn’t want you anywhere near him. Though why were you still talking to him? Why were you actively trying to make a good impression on a guy that literally couldn’t care? That was when he smirked softly and you felt a shift in his emotions._

_“I assume your family is gone?” He asked as you realized no one here knew anything about your family. Not even yourself._

_“I don’t like to say gone… I prefer to say displaced.” You insisted as you took a seat on the other side of the ledge across from him. This was your first time having a real conversation with Commander Reyes. You wouldn’t mess it up now. He must have found humor in your reply as he glanced at you._

_“I can understand that. Coming from a girl like you…”_

_“Can I ask what that means?” You retorted and he looked at you full-on, his deeply rich brown eyes causing you to feel as if he was examining you closely. Your expression, your form, your nerves even perhaps. Though after a brief three seconds of silence, he let out a soft sigh._

_“I have never met another person with such a carefree but caring personality, and still has the energy to be nervous around others. You’re really a toss-up… But I suppose that means nothing stops you, not even death detours you.” He shifted a bit and you let Reyes’ words sink in. They left an impression on you and strangely enough, his words could only make you smile._

_“There’s no fun I suppose in not being a bit of an oddity. You don’t find it bad, do you?” You asked softly and the man chuckled and looked back out the window._

_“It’s not bad at all… You make it so you’re the only Overwatch agent I can tolerate.” Reyes spoke gently and his words found their way into your heart. It made your chest feel light once again but you hid it the best you could as you looked down at the plate with two cupcakes on it. The candles had been removed of course though the markings of where they once were lingered behind. You really weren’t going to eat these both… Not with all the other goodies given to you today._

_“Hey.” You cleared your throat and Reyes once again looked at you, caught a bit off guard by your sudden break in the silence. You held out the plate and knew you couldn’t back away from saying this now. “I’m not going to eat both of these, I… Guess I’m kinda on a diet. More so too much sugar, and I won’t sleep easily.” You joked as his eyes fell from you to the plate before he took up one of the cupcakes._

_“Thanks, screw having diets anyway… I don’t think you would need one anyway.” He gave you a tired but careful smile. Your shining eyes that were full of innocence and care… When was the last time he met someone like you? Was this the first time you met someone who could make you panic and then suddenly feel calm? Silence covered the area once again until you too gave him a smile. Not a timid or shy one, but a smile that held more. A smile that made him feel a little less dead and worn inside. He missed seeing a smile like that somewhere else in his life._

_“Thank you, Commander Reyes-.”_

_“Call me Gabriel. I’m at least gifting you that for your birthday, you deserve the right to call me by my first name personally.” He interrupted you as he found himself seeing you in a slightly different light. You were taken by surprise at his ‘gift’ as it even left you with your mouth slightly agape. Quickly enough, you composed yourself and nodded._

_“Alright, thank you, Gabriel. I should get going. Have a nice night and good luck with training tomorrow.” You collected yourself and stood up to leave._

_“I’ll need it if I have to work with a hungover Mccree tomorrow. Sleep well, Y/n.” He waved with one hand and you began walking away to your room. Once you were out of sight, Gabriel looked down at the cupcake given to him. He really didn’t care about the cupcake, but it was the smile on your face and the tone in your gentle voice that left him deep in thought. It had been years since someone showed him something like that, but he questioned chasing after it. You were much younger, you had a life ahead of you… But clearly as innocent as you were, you were trained to come to danger._

_The stone-cold man sat a bit longer as he looked back out the window and pondered his choices. He was already getting screwed over by Morrison and Amari… The last thing he wanted to do was drag you down with him though. Nevertheless, he now had a desire and he loathed it. It wasn’t long until he picked himself up and began walking back to his own room while taking a bite out of the cupcake you gave him._

_This was only the beginning for you both, but not the beginning of the end… That started ages ago._


	8. Chapter 8: First Impressions

Your dream was cut from you by the feeling of a pillow hitting your face and waking you.

“Buenos Dias mi amiga!” Sombra’s smooth accented voice paired with a loud tone pulled you even further from the dream you were having.

“Sombra! Cinco minutos, por favor?” You butchered the words of her native tongue with a tired whine which caused her to hit you again and let out a louder groan to complain.

“No! We have thirty minutes to get ready and head down for training or Commander will have our heads on a platter. Have you ever been late to early morning training?” She placed her hands on her hips and you finally sat up to see she was in a black t-shirt and purple pajama bottoms with a black star pattern on them. The hair on the non shaved portion of her head was a mess from tossing and turning in her sleep, though she looked more like a person to you than someone you would dare to call a terrorist. Then again she had to be the nicest Talon member you had met so far.

“No, I have never been late like that…” You yawned and she tapped your forehead with her index finger and nodded.

“Exactly, get ready fast.” She chuckled as she went to get her clothes for the day. You were left with the lingering emotion your dream had cast on you. You forgot that birthday deep down, and you completely forgot those moments of ignorant bliss. Lena’s jokes, Angela’s smile, and him… You had mostly forgotten about him, though he was dead. Just like you were.

“Yoohoo, Y/n. Amiga, you brain dead? You need to wake up.” Sombra smiled at you as her voice caused you to look up with semi-wide eyes.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I… I suck at being a morning person. I’m good though.” You brushed it off as you stood up to get dressed for the day. Sombra gave you one last wary look but soon shrugged her shoulders and went on her way to get dressed.

  
  


****

  
  


With five minutes to spare, you and Sombra were in a large open area. Not many soldiers were up and around yet and when you asked, Sombra informed you that you trained before the other soldiers were woken up for their routines. It ensured that there was little to no confusion or crowding especially if the Operative Agents such as yourself now had missions to go on that day. While it did suck to get up before the sun would emerge and the halls seemed much colder this early in the morning, it made sense, and you had a feeling it would be useful for your future missions. Just the thought of them though caused you to shudder in fear…

As you and Sombra took your spots in the room for a brief roll call whenever your Commander walked in, you took notice of a tall and thinly built figure to cross your path. She wore a simple black tank top paired with yoga pants that fit her well and her long dark hair was tied back into a high ponytail. Sombra smirked as the Hispanic woman was dressed in a purple t-shirt and black sweatpants to train in for this morning.

“Buenos Dias, Widow. Wonderful morning, you should meet the new recruit, Y/n. My new roomie.” Sombra threw an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into a side hug and you smiled at the woman who had blue skin and a resting face that made you nervous. A scowl mixed with a perpetual look of judgment made you turn your gaze away to the floor as her voice then came to you both.

“So, a new recruit. She better be useful.” Her accent holding a French origin as her tone was anything but kind. Sombra rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“She will don’t worry, araña.” Was all she said before letting you go and crossing her arms. “It’s a little cold this morning, don’t you think? Oh, wait… I forgot you can’t tell.” Sombra giggled as the woman named Widow clicked her teeth and stood on the opposite side of you for roll call.

“Creusez votre propre tombe.” The hissed and you glanced at her, your hands in the pockets of the sports jacket that was halfway zipped up as it was a slightly chilly morning. Then again nothing was safe from the incoming winter no matter how far underground you could be. That was when Widow looked down at you and examined your shorter form, taking in anything about you she could get as if she was scoring how much success you would have here. Before you could get a word in to greet her yourself, she looked forward once again and the moment was lost.

The sound of new footsteps entered the area, slow but confident laced with a hint of power to induce a bit more fear into you. Sombra gave your back a light pat and a gentle friendly smile to tell you everything would be fine. Though it wasn’t the mere footsteps that gave you fear, no. You remember those with power back at Overwatch with similar sounds to their steps. You feared the man who walked in, the one that was just there before you knew it. A voice deep down within you told you to act natural, imagine that this was the Overwatch headquarters, Where you would spar with Lena while she ran circles around you, or practice hand to hand combat against Ana despite her age, she could always put you in your place…

Though here at Talon, you knew that nothing was as nice. They seemed like the type of people to kick you while you were down, and you knew that you couldn’t be far from the truth with those words.

The masked and hooded Commander traced his gaze over the small group of you all. Including two other men before looking to Sombra, Widow, and purposely looking back down at you. 

‘No fear. Show no fear.’ You told yourself over and over as you had your back straight as a board. Your eyes fierce as you stared back at the empty eyes of the mask, whoever was behind that mask… You wanted them to fear you. Instead of feeling fear, you needed to instill it. It felt longer than an eternity before the masked Commander broke his gaze with you and crossed his arms.

“To catch those who are new up, The Successor has given me the plans of a Strike Mission to take place in two days. The plan overall is to grab an energy source being tested in Granada, Spain. It isn’t that hard of a mission, so you five better not disappoint. Sombra.” He sneered at the woman and this look of smugness crossed her.

“Heard you loud and clear Commander Reaper…” Her tone was chill and almost like she was talking back to him as she crossed her arms. Her amethyst eyes not showing an ounce of fear for the man… How untouchable was Sombra if she could stand here with an attitude and not fear the repercussions of one of the most dangerous organizations in the world? She didn’t have physical strength, but maybe it was her mind that kept her in a sense of immunity. Whatever the case, Reaper let out a low growl almost in annoyance before uncrossing his arms.

“Watch yourself, Sombra. Just because there is a new recruit doesn’t mean that you aren’t on thin ice. I said what I needed to, which brings us to the obvious in the room…”

“I was wondering why there was new meat today.” One of the other men in the room snickered and you let out a tired sigh, but glancing down the line to the man sent you into another wave of fear before you looked forward again. The man had to be about six and a half feet tall and decked with muscles. You didn’t have the strength that Sombra had, but then again her strength came from somewhere else. So did you have the same?

“Ah, leave her be. I bet she could kick your ass buddy.” Sombra spoke up for you and Reaper grew impatient.

“Butt out of this, Sombra. Let the new thing speak.” The man leaned over and smiled, in a way it reminded you of a shark hunting for its prey. You averted your gaze and kept looking forward with stern eyes, not even staring at your Commander as your eyes fell their gaze to the floor.

‘No fear… I am not scared.’ You insisted in your head as the man could only laugh at your refusal to look him in the eyes.

“Scared, aren’t you? Bahaha! The least you could do is look me in the face if you’re trying to act it. Let me have a brawl with her, she’ll know her place real quick!” The man started to crack his knuckles and took a step forward, but before he could get closer you heard the noise of a gun being drawn. Your eyes trailed back up in a flash to see Reaper holding a gun out at the man. The tension in the room was heavy as the loud and rude man stopped in his tracks and stared down at his Commander. Anger lingered in his eyes but something else lingered with it…

“Widowmaker, Y/n. You’re both going to spar. We’ll see what Y/n can do without beating the new recruit into the ground.” Reaper hissed as the tone in his voice made your skin run cold. He looked back to you and tilted his head as a motion for you to get to the center floor. Widow had already made her way to the center as she gave herself a small stretch session before this ‘spar’. With the look in her eyes, you knew you wouldn’t have it easy like you once did at Overwatch.

Without another word, you rushed to the center and stood at least five feet from Widow as she pulled her arm across her chest to stretch it out. Commander Reaper lowered his gun from the man and the rest all stood and were prepared to watch. You gave Sombra a nervous glance and she smiled at you in return. That of courage and encouragement before you looked back to Widow who’s cold dark eyes stared into your soul intently.

She got into a proper fighting position and you let your worries go one by one… Or at least tried. You did your best to remember the skills and techniques that were once taught to you while in Overwatch, but five years had made you a bit rusty in your skills. You hoped that something deep down would awaken, especially as Reaper called to start and Widow lunged in for an obvious offensive strike.

She moved quickly and with no mistakes, like fluid water or like a skilled dancer. You were lucky that you could catch her movements from the start and slid to her left, but that didn’t prepare you for her right arm to come across and impact with your sternum. The wind was forced from your lungs as your body seized from the sudden pain and you were sent back a bit and forced to the floor. Pain wracked your body as it then rubber banded back to the place of impact, you didn’t make a noise but the pain was written on your face as Widow came to finish her task. It seems you weren’t wrong when you assumed they would kick you while you were down.

From the far end of the room, you could hear the loud laughter of the two men as they watched Widow wipe the floor with you, not even a full minute into the fight. Sombra called for you to get up and kick ass, she believed in you. Though your gaze lifted and landed far past Widow’s impending form but fell on Commander Reaper’s form instead. His masked face, and crossed arms that made his form seem far more intimidating… Though something about him in this short moment made you feel as if he reminded you of someone. A part of you deep down wanted to believe he was also cheering you on, but that couldn’t be true. He had no reason to favor you as an agent, especially if he knew of your background. Though you knew you had to prove your worth…

How long had you just sat idly while the world hit you? One tragedy after another… Your family, your future, your faith, your ability to love was all ruined as those you cherished the most were either dead or thought you were dead. When would you finally take your time and heal? When would the wounds of your past come to scar over and vanish? Maybe they never would, unless you heal them yourself… Time meant nothing if you didn’t utilize it.

With this in mind, the world picked up pace and you knew what you had to do. Deep down, something had awoken and you were going to take it. As Widow approached you, you didn’t hesitate to propel yourself at her and let out a fierce cry, like that of a warrior. You were not a tall or buff girl but you knew that if you had a strong core and stayed grounded, you could take down anyone. Especially as you gripped around Widow and tackled her to the ground.

She screeched with a quick curse in French as you knew you had caused her to look like a fool. Sombra’s background cheering helped fuel you to try and hit Widow while she was down like they would all do to you, but your form had a flaw… Widow preyed upon it and jabbed your windpipe with the blunt of her palm causing you to lose your vision for a moment so she could gain her upper hand back.

The two of you had reverted to tussling on the ground, one on top one moment before the other would sweep their feet out from under them or the other would move their arms with the open advantages given. You and Widow were practically at a stalemate until she pinned you on your stomach with her shoe digging into your back. Just as she grabbed your hair and was about to kick in your face, a voice cut in.

“That’s enough, you two.” Reaper’s chilling and dark voice boomed in the training room you all were in. Widow and you froze, even as she held your hair back and that was enough pain as it was. After a small moment passed, Widow dropped your hair and backed off so you could sit up. Your muscles ached and you knew you would have scratches and bruises in many places, but you still held your hand out to shake on her technical winning. It was what you learned to do after sparring so many years ago though Widow was not impressed and simply walked away to go back to her spot.

You went to do the same just with a minor limp and with a right cheek that felt slightly swollen. Sombra cringed a bit at your beaten form but instantly gave a reassuring smile.

“Buen trabajo, amiga! You survived longer than other recruits usually do against Ms. Spider. Your cheek looks kinda bad though…” She muttered the last part as she went to touch it but you hissed in pain and pulled away the moment she did.

“I-It’s fine. Let’s just wait for our next training orders…” You insisted, going to take your spot back next to Sombra before Reaper cleared his throat lowly. You and Sombra looked to him and your stomach sank with fear. You did your best to stand up tall and pretend that you were fine, but the pain between your ribs flared and so did the ache in your legs from how Widow would pin you. Reaper looked down to you and you had lost any idea of what he could be thinking, you only feared about your fate here… That was until he sighed and looked over to Sombra.

“Take Y/n back to your room. She got beaten up enough today, we can’t let the newcomer be a bruised and injured mess for the mission coming up. Understood?”

“Si, Commander.” Sombra gave a solemn nod. Reaper’s gaze landed on you once more and you felt like he just constantly kept examining you as if he couldn’t believe you were there, to begin with. You didn’t think that ex Overwatch agents were that rare to come across.

“Decent work with the spar I suppose. You need a lot of work if you want to be up to speed with the rest of the team. For now, go back and treat your wounds on your own. You’re not in that bad of shape, you don’t need to visit Dr. O’Deorain… You’re dismissed for this morning.” He told you and you gave your best smile, slightly timid and yet still full of blind kindness.

“Thank you, Commander Reaper.”

His body tensed for a moment and for a fraction of a second, you saw a weakness. All you said was thank you? At least… You only saw it as a simple sign for thanks along with his title. Were you seeing things, you couldn’t see what he saw. You only hoped you didn’t offend him as he shook his head and walked past you causing Sombra to walk up to you and place a light hand on your shoulder.

“Come on, amiga. I’ll get you back to the room and then I’ll fetch us some breakfast from the cafeteria. Sounds good?”

“Muy bien.” You said with a joking smile and the two of you giggled lightly to one another before leaving the area.

As for Commander Reaper… He could only glance from the distance he was and wonder if this was a sick nightmare. A twisted dream where you were there and you had not changed a bit, your smile, your tone, your voice, even what you said. All of it filled him with the darkened nostalgia as he wanted to correct you. You didn’t need to call him Commander, you never did… But he couldn’t break out of who he was now. Real or not, he couldn’t show his weaknesses to you so easily but it was hard for him more than these past five years had ever been. Why couldn’t you stay dead for your own good?


	9. Chapter 9: In a Different Light

With an ice pack on the side of your face and some bacon with eggs on a plate, you sat on your bed across from Sombra as the two of you chowed down on breakfast. She did her best to keep the mood light, but as you ate and tried your best to keep a smile on your face, Sombra knew you were discouraged from the spar with Widow and the other guys that laughed at you.

“Mira, amiga. You did perfectly fine. I got my ass handed to me by Widow all the time when I was new. I think you did great!” She assured you as she set her finished plate of food aside and stood up. You looked up to her and knew that she was trying her best to cheer you up… She was the only person you could end up trusting here. As weird and as mysterious as she came off as she still held the nicest personality than anyone else here.

“I suppose I did. I tried, I really tried.” Your voice was soft and melancholy as you glanced back down to your finished plate.

“You tried and it worked. The Commander seemed impressed, Y/n. You really did amaze him.” Sombra said with a different tone as she took your finished plate from you and set it aside with her own. Meanwhile, you tilted your head and found yourself asking,

“I did? How could you tell? To me, he looked no more dark and brooding than he seemed last night when I met him.” Her eyes trailed back to you and her painted lips of purple curled into a soft smile. Like she knew something more than you did… It was driving you slowly mad.

“I just know. He’s hard to read, but you learn how the more you know of him.”

“Well, you seem to know the most about anyone if not everyone, even me. So what is the deal with Reaper? Come on Sombra, I’m in the dark here.” You begged and Sombra seemed to tense up. She looked down at you sitting on your bed with an ice pack over your cheek and observed you. It was as if she was trying to contemplate telling you anything. Though your pleading eyes and begging face only made her sigh and look away.

"Reaper is… Well. He's kinda hard to pin much on. I'll be honest though that he's had his fair share of tragedy." She took a seat next to you on your bed and you looked to her with a sympathetic sadness for the Commander who scared you still.

"Like what?" You quired and the Hispanic woman beside you hummed as she leaned back a bit. Placing her hands behind her as she then traced the ceiling as if held the answers you asked.

"Well, losing his family as a young adult. Losing the trust of his wife… And much more. I feel like him and you have a lot in common.” She said with a chuckle as you could only stare at her confused. Sombra’s words left a strong and lingering insecurity with you as her smile turned slightly sad and even a hint of guilt. What was she hiding?

“What?” You asked with a nervous laugh and Sombra shook her head as she stood back up.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I was joking…”She picked up the plates and was going to dispose of them properly before she stopped and slowly turned back to you. “Though… I think he used to be a part of Overwatch also. I’m not sure where, but he was. So there’s that.” She left with that and you wanted to rush off and ask her about it, though you could only sit in shock over what you just were told.

Who was he?

  
  


****

  
  


Later on in the day, Sombra had left to tend to her own things so you could only resort to walking around and ending up roaming the halls. Very rarely some other agents would pass you without a second glance and you began to wonder why this had become your life. From a hero to now a deep villain, you had hit rock bottom. Whatever would be your fate from this point on, you couldn’t tell.

You could either be higher than you ever had been in your entire life or dead in a ditch after you fail even once. You should have been dead anyway, but life just wasn’t done with you. There was something that you still had to do with your life and whatever it would be you were clueless. No matter what it was, you were unprepared. 

As you passed through one of the hallways, a figure walked opposite towards you. Their tall form was recognizable as you were amazed to see a smile cross their face. It was Dr. O’Deorain.

“Ms. L/n. Lovely day we’re having don’t you think?”

“Very lovely Dr. O’Deorain…” You stopped to talk with her in the hallways as you rubbed the back of your neck slightly. The extremely tall Irish woman held a clipboard close to her chest as you saw how one of her hands were badly damaged and scarred, but her heterochromatic eyes expressed a calm kindness. Sombra’s words from the other day didn’t vanish from you and you knew that Dr. O’Deorain was not as nice as she came off to you as.

“Wonderful, wonderful. I heard you have successfully been signed into Talon as an Operative agent! I am so glad to hear the news, and I assume that means you have started training also with Commander Reaper. How did that go?” Her long nails tapping against the back of the clipboard while she anticipated your answer.

“It’s fine, and it went alright… Though I did get a bit of a bruise on my arms, and my cheek is a bit beaten up.” You rubbed the cheek that Widow had socked and Dr. O’Deorain gasped at the sight of it. 

“Oh my, that is a horrible injury. You should have come to me to get it checked out.” She frowned slightly and you tried so hard not back away. She had too much interest in yourself and you were certain she didn’t care that much about your wellbeing.

“Well, um… I just didn’t think that it was that bad. And…” You excused and your eyes trailed to the floor, this interaction was slowly gaining tension. You wanted out, you were starting to feel like prey once again.

“You can trust in me, Y/n. I am Talon’s best doctor. I can make your fighting skills much better if you’re willing to trust me.” Dr. O’Deorain offered a hand out to you. You wanted to take the chance, not just to get her off your back but to see what success this would give you in a land unknown to you. The world was becoming too much for you to handle, but maybe Dr. O’Deorain would make it so much easier? Maybe…

Just as you went to take her hand to take the chance, a voice caused you to jump and turn.

“What’s going on over here, doc?” The low and gruff voice sent the same chills down your spine as they have done so many times before. When you turned around, you saw the macabre man himself. Reaper. Your breath hitched in your throat as you were now cornered by two important Talon individuals. Oh, what you would give for Sombra to be here to help you out…

“Ah, Reaper. Pleasure seeing you this fine day-.”

“Cut the chit chat, doctor. What are you doing with one of my agents?” Reaper stepped up and crossed his arms. It surprised you truly at how he stood by to defend you… Then again, Sombra did tell you he was once part of Overwatch, maybe a lingering part of pity stayed for you?

“Oh, well. Y/n and I were just talking about possibly helping her be a bit better with her sparring and her strength. Nothing major, that should be fine… Don’t you think?” She hummed and Reaper only growled.

“She’s fine. Just wait for the mission coming up, Y/n doesn’t need your improvements, Moira.” He insisted which caused Dr. O’Deorain to frown. Her eyes became fierce as they stared each other down for a long moment as you stood basically in the middle. Lucky for you, you were short enough so that they had their intense staring contest above you.

Soon enough, Dr. O’Deorain shifted and began to turn away.

“Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop, Commander.” She sneered before she disappeared from both your sights. All that was left was your rapidly beating heart and the fact that this mysterious man named Reaper was right beside you. You thought he would speak to you, or possibly reprimand you for talking to this questionably ethical doctor, but no. Without a single word said, Reaper turned on his heels and began to walk away.

“O-oh… Um. Commander?” You asked with a soft tone causing the darkly worn man to stop and glance back at you. You cleared your throat and gave yet another gentle smile, it was the least you could do for the fallen hero that was similar to you much more than you could know. He deserved a smile… “Thank you, I suppose. She was scaring me.” You laughed nervously. The air between you both held strong before he gave you a small nod and continued on his way.

While you were left to only scurry back to yours and Sombra’s room, you couldn’t see the emotions that swept over Reaper. The more he saw you, the more he was seeing that this was no dream. This was a nightmare. You being here was the last thing he wanted to see not because of anything you did, God no… It was because he feared what they would do to you. They would ruin your smile, your laugh, your kindness that you tried hard to hide but failed every damn time.

He thought you were dead for years and he knew you thought the same of him. While this was not the case for either of you, the least he could do for now was keep you safe from the evils around you. He couldn’t do so before, but he would repent for his failures now.


	10. Chapter 10: Nothing Changed

_“Don’t move your arm, okay? You’re going to feel a bit of a sting.”_

_“Yes ma’am.” You had not felt this much pain before, but the cause of it was for a good cause. Your vision wavered but you knew where you were from the bright lights above, the faint smell of sweet peppermint mixed with menthol, and the feeling of Dr. Ziegler’s smooth and gentle hands pressing against your arm to try and fix the hole in your right forearm. It hurt, it was the worst kind of pain… Well, not the worst, but it ranked high up on the physical pain scale for you._

_“Y/n, I swear… Sometimes I feel like you should be wary of what you do before you do it.”_

_“I had to, Angela…” Was your only argument as a searing pain of Angela removing the bullet from your arm caused you to groan and cut yourself off. She numbed it the best she could and you trusted her with your life to help you, so you couldn’t get mad that her warning was simply to keep you calm._

_“It’s okay deary, breathe… Keep breathing.” She insisted as she kept working with a steady hand. You stifled the whimper that boiled in the back of your throat, but you made sure your breathing was steady enough so the spots in your vision did not take over. “And… There!” She breathed with a sense of relief. The clank of metal onto a tray beside the chair you were in caused you to turn your head a bit and see what she removed._

_Yeah, that was indeed a bullet. Coated with your blood and it made you sick to see, but you turned away to look up at the ceiling as she began to patch you up. Thankfully her past surgeon skills did help you stay calm. Even as she was stitching you up you couldn’t feel a thing. Angela truly was a miracle worker; an angel._

_Just as Angela was finishing up, you heard the sound of the door to the medical room open. Her eyes trailed up as a look of annoyance soon painted her face which urged you to glanced over as well. To your surprise, you saw Gabriel Reyes there clearly here to discuss something. He didn’t expect Angela to be in the middle of something like this._

_“Gabriel, I’m a tad bit busy. What do you need?” Angela huffed as she kept working with your arm and you could only give the Commander a small, sheepish, smile. This was not how you wanted to be seen, but everyone was bound to figure out about your attempted heroic act at some point. Gabe showed a brief look of confusion and surprise to see you here as Angela worked on your arm, though a glance to the metal tray with the bullet on it answered whatever questions he had. He stayed across the room so as not to barge in on Angela’s work as he spoke up,_

_“Sorry to interrupt Angela, just here to gather the reports on the injured from the last mission for Jack. I can come back later I guess if you’re busy.” His voice was as calm as always. Deep, rich, and for you it brought a warmth. You looked back to Angela who finished up the last stitch and was now wrapping up the area with a bandage as she looked back up to Gabe._

_“Nah, I just finished up. Next time though, knock. I’ll get the reports after I finish patching up Ms. L/n. And I mean it Y/n, you’re a smart girl but I fear you’re too smart for your own good.” Angela reprimanded you as she let you sit up._

_“Come on Angela, I can take a bullet. It wasn’t that bad…”_

_“Uh-huh, as if you weren’t crying when Lena brought you in.”_

_“Angela!” You defended as the bickering between the two of you caused Gabriel to chuckle deeply. His laughter made your heart beat a bit faster and made your mind race a bit more as you turned to look at him. Why did he bring this sensation out of you? His warm brown eyes landing on you paired with a captivating smile, his strong face, and overall form gave off a bold but good-natured aura. He was scary and comforting at the same time and deep down a part of you had begun to adore it. You had barely talked to him the weeks following the night of your birthday, but now and then when passing him in the halls you would greet him with a smile. Or if he looked a bit disgruntled like the night he sat by the window, you would stop to talk with him for a minute or two… Little by little, even when you didn’t acknowledge Gabriel Reyes the thought of him slipped into your mind._

_He was a mystery to you, and one you enjoyed more than anything. It was natural to just find everything about him appealing to you, but at least you were smart enough to keep your thoughts just to you. Especially as Angela was right beside you and looked to Gabe as he chuckled._

_“She took a bullet for Lena supposedly, literally. So far she is the only one I needed to do emergency surgery on.” Angela explained as she got up and went to fetch the reports from her desk that was nearby._

_“Really now?” Gabe’s eyebrows raised as his tone held that of surprise and his eyes followed Angela before looking back to you. You wanted to hide behind the chair or completely disappear as you rubbed the back of your neck with your good arm, averting your gaze away from Gabe’s as you did so._

_“Yeah, it’s not that bad. I just needed some stitches.” You still defended yourself and Angela scoffed._

_“You are extremely lucky you only needed stitches! If your arm was bent any other way, it could have hit your Ulna or Radius and those take months to heal! Lucky you, you will only be out of commission for two months.” Angela walked back over to Gabe and handed him what he requested in a manila folder labeled: Medical Reports._

_“Try not to get shot next time, trust me. It isn’t the greatest feeling in the world.” He gave you his word of advice as Angela smiled. Despite her sisterly care, she did have her moments where she preferred to be right. This was one time especially since it was about your wellbeing. You were beginning to feel outnumbered, so you only let out a soft sigh and looked to the floor._

_“Well, you are good to go Y/n. Get some bed rest and try not to use your right arm too much.” Angela concluded and Gabe looked down at her._

_“Want me to walk her to her quarters so she doesn’t get in any trouble? I pass the agent’s rooms on my way to Morrison’s office anyway.” His tone held no change as you looked back up. Usually, he wouldn’t go out of his way to help any other agent but you knew that to him you were no ‘any other agent’. He did find you tolerable, which made you wonder why he put on such a kind act to Angela. Though who could truly be rude to a woman as angelic as her?_

_“Go right ahead, she needs her rest.” Angela agreed and went to move over to her desk to get more work done. Gabe gave you a small smirk and motioned for you to get up and follow him, which you listened to him._

_“Thank you, Angela. I’ll see you around.” You waved to her and Angela looked up from whatever paperwork she was already staring at to give you a small smile mixed with a playful look._

_“Hopefully you don’t end up back here, Ms. L/n.”_

_“Yes ma’am.” You responded with a calm laugh as both you and Gabe left Dr. Ziegler’s office._

  
  


_****_

  
  


_“So why don’t you tell me the whole story,” Gabe started in a slightly different tone while the two of you made your slow and steady way to the agent’s quarters. You couldn’t tell if this tone was kinder, or if it possibly just was his way of speaking to you when no one else was around. Did you bring out a better side of him, or were you just hearing things?_

_“Well… We had a mission to King’s Row that Commander Morrison put together. It was all going well, no issues but soon gunfire erupted and Lena was preoccupied.”_

_“So you took the bullet heading for Lena?” Gabe stopped walking and looked down at you, worry hinted on his face which made you glance away and look to the floor before looking back up at him._

_“I went to push her out of the way, but yeah. I took the bullet instead.” You admitted as you looked at your patched-up arm._

_“Y/n, you know that Lena has been training for a long time with the team. She could handle herself, you shouldn’t be getting yourself injured for others-”_

_“But, Gabriel. If I didn’t, the bullet would have struck her chronal accelerator.” You added this crucial part in a heavily worried tone which caused Gabe to blink with surprise. Lena losing her chronal accelerator would be a devastating event. No one knew what would truly happen but from stories Lena told on passing, it was difficult to ground her to the present to begin with. If it was ever broken, there were chances she may never return. Deep down, you couldn’t afford to lose one of your closest friends you had gained in Overwatch. To you, she was family, and you would do anything to save your family._

_Gabriel saw how you looked back down at your arm and he began to connect the dots over how much you valued Lena. He placed a hand on the shoulder of your good arm which caused you to look up as you met his gaze paired with a warm smile. You wanted to melt right there, his smile, his eyes, despite his cold attitude to everyone else he gave you the warmest feeling deep down in your chest._

_“You’re too much of a bleeding heart for your own good, but… You have a lot of courage caring about those you love. You’re a wonderful woman, Y/n.” He complimented you which caused your cheeks to dust with a gentle pink color._

_“You’re a wonderful man yourself, Gabriel.” You returned the compliment and the Commander could only laugh hollowly. Your smile faltered as he took his hand off your shoulder and gave a slight shake of his head._

_“No, no I’m not. Thank you though for saying I am. I’m far from being a saint…”_

_“To me you are, so that’s all that matters to me.” You butted in and smiled up at him. Every time you smiled at him with pure care and compassion you saw him freeze and observe you. Little did you know that every time you smiled you took his breath away, and all he wanted to do was freeze time to observe it for as long as he wanted. While he filled you with warmth, you filled him with life. You both had been deprived of any affection or care for so long, you were what each other needed but both were too scared to admit it._

_Until now._

_“Y/n?” Gabe’s voice snapped you into a sense of curiosity and wonder. You tilted your head to the side a bit and replied,_

_“What’s up?” trying to play off as calm and cool, though deep within you your pulse was racing and your mind jumbling again. Had you said something wrong? Did you say something that didn’t fit well with him? Or did he have something to tell you… you were notorious for thinking of all the possible good and bad outcomes and this time was no exception. Gabriel smirked at your reaction before asking his question._

_“Since you’re on medical leave from missions and difficult work for a while, want to take tomorrow night to head out into the city and get a few drinks? Angela said you couldn’t go on missions, but she didn’t say you couldn’t have some fun with the break you’re getting.” He chuckled and your eyes lit up with a brief sense of awe and excitement before you kept you calm and nodded to him._

_“Sure! I would love to! I’ve been here for almost a year and I have not gotten to see much of the city here in Switzerland. You should show me around also while we’re out!” You agreed to his offer and Gabe returned your agreement with a relieved smile as he turned to keep leading you to your room._

_“Sounds like a plan. Meet me outside the main entrance around 7:30 tomorrow night. Now let’s get you back to your room so you can stop making Angela worry.” His voice lingered with a smooth prideful tone but also with a constant enjoyment towards you. You followed alongside him as you let out a small giggle and added on,_

_“Yeah, and you should probably get those papers to Commander Morrison. I know for a fact he can get a bit much sometimes. Especially when people are late.” Which made Gabriel chuckle in return._

_“Yeah… Too much.” He agreed as the two of you continued on your way with a smile on both your faces._

  
  


****

  
  


Your body jolted suddenly and an aching pain came through to linger in your bones. Peeling open your eyes gave you nothing but the darkness of your shared room with Sombra, and the sound of her softly snoring across the room. Of course, you woke up abnormally early on the one day you had a big mission. Turning over to look at Sombra’s clock on her desk, the time taunted you: 3:01 am. You would have to get up for four in an hour anyway to prepare for the Spain mission.

Two days flew by with no issue, but your body still ached from all the training you were forced to do to prepare. Lucky for you, the swelling of your cheek went down and you just looked bruised. You still had a job to do, nevertheless… No matter how much you hated it and how much it made your stomach twist into knots, you were chained to this life. Even as you forced yourself to get dressed in the dark, pushing past the pain that throbbed in your muscles and even down to your bones.

Once you were dressed in the uniform given to you for the mission and pulled your hair back, you headed out of the room to let Sombra sleep in like she enjoyed doing. You made your way down to the training room. Once you entered it was empty as could be. Not a single agent was here this early, then again you were only because you couldn’t dare go back to sleep after the dream you had.

It made you remember the old interactions you once had with Gabriel and thinking of them now didn’t fill you with the sense of warmth it filled you with before. It made your blood run cold and your nerves feel dead knowing he was gone for good… You wished you could have done something had you known sooner of what was going on behind closed doors. As you set your bag of assigned equipment down against a wall, you stood out in the open and began to stretch before you would warm up properly with one of the punching bags nearby. At least stretching alone gave you the ability to reflect on your dream.

That night you and Gabe would head out for drinks would be one of many times the two of you would go out and relax together. You would go to a bar and have a few drinks but after a while would return to the headquarters to enjoy a quieter atmosphere on the roof of the building with a few beers of your own. Back then, the air was warm and the night sky was bright… Sitting side by side with no one else around, it was what the two of you needed. Enough to share a kiss and understand that what you both felt was equal, and enough for you to fall asleep while leaning against him with his strong arms wrapped around your resting form.

You had gained the comfort and warmth you longed for since you had lost almost everything and he gained the light he had lost with years of wronged mindsets. There was so much more underneath his skin, you could never figure him out completely but that didn’t bug you at all. It should have, but it didn’t. Even thinking about it now… You just wished you could have him back. The tears you cried for nights on end many years ago had drained you of what you could have cried now. At least now, you could think of Gabriel and still look somewhat strong side from your body being littered with bruises from sparing with Widow again and even trying to spar with the other male. Which both were horrible failures.

Maybe you weren’t cut out to be a Talon member, maybe you were never cut out to be a hero, but in that mindset… What were you cut out for? While you were busy pulling your arm behind your head to loosen up and deep in thought over what you had dreamed of only moments earlier, the sound of heavy footsteps made you snap and turn your head to the entrance. You had begun to recognize his footsteps when he allowed anyone to even hear them.

Commander Reaper entered the training room and instantly his gaze fell on you continuing to stretch as if you weren’t up extremely early in the morning.

“You’re early.” Was all he muttered as you stopped and looked at him from across the room. He was intimidating without needing to try, and it did impress you how he acted like a nightmare without needing to break a sweat.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” You let the words slip out that you had to remember you were talking to your heartless and cold faced Commander for a terrorist organization, not a friend. Lucky for you, the masked man let out a dry chuckle at your words and set down a separate bag of items for the mission.

“I suppose it isn’t… A normal person isn’t up at three in the morning unless something was nagging at them.” He added as he dug through the bag and you continued to stretch so you could practice a bit more before the others showed up in the next hour.

“I guess something was nagging at me. Just a dream… Nothing to cry home about, sir.” You said nothing more on the matter as you didn’t feel comfortable telling this dark and brooding killer about the dreams of your fallen lover. Especially when your job was to act cold and just as much a killer as the rest of your new team.

“A dream… Hm.” He muttered something else under his breath and you turned to him with a graced expression of confusion.

“What was that sir?”

“Take these, I had to complain to the higher-ups to get them for you for the mission. So you better be grateful.” He insisted as he tossed you two pistol-like guns. Glancing at them made your eyes light up as you stepped forward and caught them as if your life depended on them.

“My pistols!” You beamed with innocent pride that took over too naturally for you to hide it right away. You did catch yourself a second after you caught them to act dignified, but he had already seen the look on your face that he longed for. When he made you smile like that naturally he didn’t need anything else in the world, but now? He could only see it from afar when Sombra would tell you a joke under her breath during training or when you were now holding the prized creations you made so long ago. Your eyes landed on Reaper once again as you gave him a gentle smile along with a nod. “Thank you, Commander Reaper. You have no idea how much these mean to me.” You placed them in the holsters that were empty on your uniform.

Reaper watched you for a second longer before he sighed and zipped up his bag.

“Yeah… I had a feeling you would need them. Now don’t fail us today, I know for a fact you should be able to do this mission.” He stood back up tall and now avoided your gaze. You watched him walk to where the punching bags hung. It didn’t surprise you that he was going there, but you were curious by what he meant when he said ‘I know for a fact you should be able to do this mission’.

“Is it because you know I was an Overwatch agent?” You asked in a sour tone and he stopped to look back at you. “I feel as if that’s what everyone is judging me on, I hoped you wouldn’t either. It was in the past, five years ago… They failed me, and that’s why I kept myself dead until Talon found me. I’m just trying to stay alive now.” You told Reaper and he seemed to take your words in and think deeply of them.

“They failed much of what they wanted to achieve. Their work was foolish, all those who worked for them and believed in them were idiots.” He ended and you felt that as a directed insult to yourself. Even frowning ever so slightly at his correctness until he added, “Except you.” Which you assumed hinted at how you had turned to Talon now after also being hurt by the organization that was meant to save the world…

“I won’t let anyone down today, sir.” You insisted as he turned back to start his warm-up.

“I know you won’t.” He muttered, unable to let his tone change or his facade to drop.


	11. Chapter 11: Dreadful Mission

“Alright, amiga. You have the plan down pat?”

“Um. Run it by me, one last time. Just to be safe. Sorry, I’m just really nervous about this.”

“Nah, I get it. It’s your first mission, but you’ll be with me. We have a fun and easy job.” Sombra continued to insist as you sat side by side on a jet to the proper location. A drop off point that would then take traveling by assigned vehicles to get to the lab where the energy source was being tested. You and Sombra were placed on a duo team together to help her break into the lab’s security system and to take out the cameras and undo any blocked paths. It was simple, only the six of you including Commander Reaper were on for this mission… Though no matter how simple it sounded, the thought of doing this made you feel sick and panicky.

“You say that, but I don’t want to mess up.” You retorted in a whisper and Sombra rolled her eyes.

“Take deep breaths, follow me… You’ll be my extra eyes and ears as we get to the security room. Heck, even if I run into an issue, maybe you’ll be able to help me.” She nudged your shoulder as a chuckle escaped her. While everyone else was stone cold and serious, you and Sombra seemed to be the only two talking. Her smile was infectious, then again despite only being with Talon for a few days you and Sombra enjoyed each other's company to the point it annoyed other Talon agents. 

Making jokes at the worst time, interrupting training with laughter when you or Sombra would make a snarky comment. Even one night her and you stayed up to sneak out of your room and grab snacks from the cafeteria after the allowed time. Did you almost get caught? Yes, but luckily Sombra knew a thing or two about getting out of the stickiest of situations.

“You’ll be okay, amiga.” She insisted as her gaze fell on a moving figure as the jet made its descent. You too looked up to find Reaper with his weapons ready and his stance as menacing as always, two shotgun-like weapons holstered at his side which struck you as oddly familiar… But where? You didn’t have time to ponder that thought as Reaper began speaking to the rest of the team.

“Remember, this is simply a go in, grab and get out mission. Understood? Don’t linger around too long since the getaway vehicles won’t stick around for just you. Sombra and Y/n, you both are stationed to the Administration Security room accessible by going to the roof and heading down. Once those two are in place I need you two,” He gestured to the two men on the team who had made fun of you since day one, “To cause a believable distraction. It shouldn’t be that hard for you both. Then Widowmaker and I will head in to retrieve the source. Any questions? No? Good. Get ready.” He didn’t even wait for any of us to even ask questions as he turned on his heels and went to sit down to prepare himself for the mission.

After what happened this morning you couldn’t shake what he said and how he said it. Sombra entered a little bit before the others showed up on time and found you warming up on the complete opposite side from Reaper, and she instantly asked what was up. The moment you said you had a weird dream and came down to train she understood you couldn’t go back to sleep after it, though she glanced over to Reaper with a concerning look before brushing it off and asking if you would warm up with her. It was as if the conversation never happened, but it was also if Reaper did his best to rarely speak to you. Your only assumption that made sense was that your history didn’t make your time here easier.

You were trained harder, treated rougher, and for what? For a few skills and lessons you happened to remember? Maybe being a hero for Overwatch wasn’t worth it… Though what made Talon any more worth your time? Wasn’t it only doing what Overwatch one did? Only, the work Talon was having you do made your heart ache, and an old part of you wanted to cry. Even if you could cry about it, it wasn’t as if they would let you go willingly. You were here whether you liked it or not, or you faced a dark end.

While your thoughts slipped to the most morbid of spaces, the jet finally landed and Sombra stood up to load her machine pistol. You ensured your pistols were strapped to your sides and glanced at Sombra. Her outfit was like the one you saw her wearing when you first met her, make up done and all… It was as if she was going on a date. Meanwhile, you only dressed as you liked to back in Overwatch except the outfit was a black jumpsuit with red trim along the turtle neck collar, down the sleeves, and around the hem of a hood that you used to hide a majority of your identity. A mask of black material sat as a scarf around your neck to pull up so the only thing people would see of you would be your eyes.

Once fully put together, you looked back to Sombra who gave you a playful smile.

“You look like a bad ninja.” She teased you with a nudge and you rolled your eyes at her.

“I suppose that’s the point?” Was all you retorted and that earned a small eye roll from the snippy Hispanic woman.

“Alright, if you say so. Let’s go, amiga.” She ushered you out of the jet to the vehicle you both would take. Tinted black windows, a fake license plate… The entire set up was made to look as real as possible though you could also see how shady it may look through the perspective of a past hero. Though with no place to argue, it was showtime.

  
  


****

  
  


Sombra told you to breathe and never under any circumstance should you panic. There you both stood though with a clear view of the roof but no way to get on, what were you supposed to do? Fly over? Fat chance.

“How do we get over?” Your voice was soft and a tad bit shaky as Sombra pulled out a device you had begun to see more and more especially since you both shared the same room. It struck you as familiar but never did you get the chance to observe it enough to figure out what it possibly did. The light it gave off matched Sombra’s overall aesthetic while she looked to you and winked.

At the moment, both of you were in a tall watchtower that was eye level with the roof of the research building which was about fifty feet away. Too far to jump, and it seemed almost impossible to get to it from where you both were, but there was nowhere closer to attempt to reach the roof. While you were stuck wondering how you would make your way across, Sombra wound her arm up and sent the item flying fifty feet to the building’s rooftop. It landed a decent distance from the roof’s edge and pulsed purple as if it had been activated.

“What was that for?” You looked to her with pure confusion and she smiled cheekily.

"Alright. You trust me? Right?" 

"I mean. I suppose? Why a- Hey!" You started before Sombra wrapped and arm around your waist in a swift motion. Without any other warning, your vision clouded over and your stomach dropped. As if you were falling from a high distance but the ground never gave way under you.

As soon as the feeling came, the wave of it dispersed and your vision cleared up. Where you stood was on the exact spot where Sombra had thrown her device, on the roof of the building. Your eyes went wide and you needed a second to process what happened and to recover from the feeling of nausea which took over.

"Don't vomit, please don't vomit." Sombra insisted as you took deep breaths to collect yourself.

"What… What was that?" You gasped with pure confusion as Sombra retrieved her device. 

“You know me, I have many tricks up my sleeve. Now we need to get going… No time to be sick about it.” She ushered you to stand up straight and the two of you moved forward. After opening the hatch that led to the roof from one of the janitor closets, Sombra led the both of you through a series of corridors while dodging scientists and security guards until you busted into the Administration Security room. It took both of you knocking out two guards to get to the proper controls.

“Alright Reaper, we're in the control room and I’m hacked into the controls. Just give me the word and I’ll open up the doors.” Sombra held a finger to her left ear as she spoke into an earpiece you were each given. Your eyes traced around the room while she spoke, your paranoia sinking in as you feared getting caught in the worst situation possible. As of now, it was clear that you and Sombra were safe, but one slip up and this could send the mission into peril which would cost you your life.

As Sombra said this an alarm sounded and Reaper’s voice came through the earpiece for you both.

“They guys started the distraction, open the East security doors now.” And that was all Sombra needed before she worked swiftly and with no hesitation. Breaking through passwords as if they were pencils she was snapping over her knee.

“This is too easy... “ She smirked while she glanced at you standing there almost pacing. “Calm down, amiga. Take a seat. We won’t be here too much longer.”

“I guess, but this is just… I have a bad feeling about this.” You muttered as you sat on the edge of one of the tables and kept a keen eye out. Sombra shook her head and kept working as the alarms still blared which kept you constantly on edge.

That was until Widow’s voice broke your wandering mind.

“Sombra, Y/n, be on high alert. We’re getting company, keep going with the plan.” Her french accent drowned out by the sound of gunshots around her. Reaper cursed and Sombra let out a tired and even slightly bothered sigh.

“Copy that. Just tell me when you get the item and we will dip with you.” She responded for both of you. Your feeling of uneasiness increased at this news and yet Sombra remained as calm as always. It was a blessing of a skill she had, and you were slightly jealous of how relaxed she always seemed. Then again, what did she need to go through to seem this way? No one could just train them to act calmly under such situations so perhaps Sombra’s background and history made her fit perfectly for the role of the collective and calm hacker.

Meanwhile, you began pacing once again as your chest felt tight. Sombra would glance up at the smallest noises but would always find time to shoot you a comforting smirk as she would then go back to working and hacking.

“How long does it take to get something? I don’t think we should be sticking around too long.”

“Calm, stay calm. We’ll be out faster than you know it…” She assured while you glanced out the door and down the hallway. Nothing…

“I don’t think the two of you should be in here.” A higher-toned female voice said. You spun around and Sombra’s eyes shot up as she looked behind herself to see someone half sticking out of the vent from above. Their face was familiar as the back of your hand as a pair of goggled-covered brown eyes shot daggers at you. This had to be fake, a dream… What were the chances that she would be here? Her of all people…

Lena.

“Ah, the mighty Tracer… Of course, they send you to come to deal with the fastest hacker.” Sombra drew her machine pistol which amped you to draw your pistols. Lena’s gaze landed on you for a brief moment before looking back to Sombra, did she not recognize you? Maybe it was for the better.

“This ends here, Talon won’t be walking away with the energy supply.” She insisted as she zipped down from the vent to the floor her guns trained on both of you. One pointed at you and one at Sombra. It was a standoff, but two against one. You didn’t want to shoot Lena though, as memories of her and you flashed through your mind. She was one of the closest friends you had at Overwatch and you had even risked your health to save her. Even when she wasn’t there for you and she assumed like the rest of them that you were dead, you couldn’t bring yourself to end her.

“Well, that isn’t for you to say.” Sombra chuckled as you kept silent for your own good. You felt close to throwing up once again as the more you looked at Lena the more you could tell how she was real. This was happening and it was shocking… Her short chestnut shaded hair, her strong hazel eyes that always expressed kindness to you now expressed a burning passion to take you down. As much as she believed you were dead, deep down you felt the same about her… Though the shock you felt was enough to remind you that you were indeed alive, and so was she.

“It is, you thief. You all won’t walk away without consequences. You hear?” Lena glanced at you with the same amount of anger. If only she knew though just as she began to observe your weapons with a brief sense of confusion, Sombra grabbed your arm and the two of you fled the room. Lena shouting out at you as she gave chase.

“Sir! We needed to flee the room, we got a speedy little puta on our tails.”

“Understood,” Reaper growled before Widowmaker spoke up. “I got the objective. We’re clear to retreat… Head to the Eastern side of the building is where we have the pickup squadron waiting for us.” Her tone was full of pride with just a hint of anger at the retaliation the team was getting. You could hear Sombra mutter something under her breath as the two of you made a sharp turn.

“P-Please tell me you know how to get to the pickup location.” You asked as the two of you ran, starting to get out of breath but you knew that slowing down was not an option.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. I always do.” Sombra continued to assure you before you were cut off by the quick British woman and her notorious speed.

“Dead end you two.” Lena hissed as she was ready to end this chase here and now. The bubbly woman you had known was not letting either of you go now… Especially as she ran to tackle Sombra and pin her down. Training alongside Lena for a few years still brought back memories of training with her and thus gave you the warning of how she bounced off her one leg to lunge at your new partner.

In an act of reaction and fear you stepped in and grounded your feet to push back at Lena only for the two of you to tumble and for you to end up on top. Your heart beat wildly in your ears as your hoodie fell off allowing your hair to fall now a bit of a mess from the nightly tied back look you had given it this morning.

Lena grunted on impact but wasn’t going down easy as she found a way to flip the two of you over. You let out a hurt grunt as the back of your head hit the floor. Her smile was triumphant which brought back bittersweet memories at the worst time possible, but the smile dropped suddenly. Lena’s eyes traced your face as you realized what brought her expression. Not only had your hood fallen but so did your mask, revealing your full identity to her.

“Y-Y/n… No… No this can’t be! Y-you’re dead!” She gasped, shock taking over as her words made your nerves tremble and you wanted to cry. Nothing could prepare her for seeing you here on the enemy team. Her eyes were now full of hurt and betrayal while yours were full of regret and sadness before Sombra broke your moment with the woman you once called your best friend. 

“Y/n!” Which forced your body to react. You overpowered Lena and got off of her to rush back to Sombra so you could still run. While she shot her gun at hinges that secured a metal pipe from above which dropped down with a loud metallic bang, you found yourself back at Sombra’s side. Lena’s path to you blocked off by the giant pipe Sombra had dislodged, though she could still see the two of you. Lena refused to give up yet with sadness, anger, and grief painted on her face.

“What are you horrible people doing to Y/n? You’ll pay!” She demanded as she shot at Sombra. You shoved the Hispanic purple-haired woman as you spoke up.

“Run! Come on!” You demanded as you felt a pain in your right arm. Though as Sombra took your first advice this entire mission, the two of you bolted down the hallway and continued on your way to escape with the others. Pain coursed through your body, tears filling the brim of your eyes as you could only recall Lena’s expression of betrayal. She didn’t know you were alive… No one did, but it wasn’t her fault.

It wasn’t long until you and Sombra got down to the first floor to exit and escape to the ship that was waiting for you and whoever else was still on their way back. The purple-themed woman smiled back to you as she let out a victorious cackle.

“Hurray! We did it amiga! That was amazing work! I-... Hey… What’s wrong?” She asked as you had stopped and gripped your forearm and forced a weak smile, though it was hard to hide the pain you were in as deep red liquid spilled from the injury. The shot Lena had fired for Sombra, you had taken to save your friend’s life. 

“I-... I’m fine. Just, she got m-my forearm-.” You excused which Sombra stood with her back to the ship to hide you from any view.

“Oh, fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, um. Okay... You’ll be okay. Wrap this around it. You have to just sit tight for the hour ride back, okay amiga?”

“Okay…” You whimpered while Sombra pulled out some simple sports bandages which she used to stifle the bleeding the best she could. It wouldn’t fix the problem but it would keep it patched up long enough until you got back to base. Once she wrapped you up, Sombra ushered you onto the jet.

This mission was a success at least and to you, that was all that mattered. Yet you couldn’t shake the thoughts of Lena from your mind, but at least they blocked out the thoughts of pain you were now feeling in your right arm.


	12. Chapter 12: Pain to Share

The ride back to the base felt like the longest hour of your life. The constant pain that radiated from your arm made your eyes water and you wanted to collapse right there on the jet but you had to keep up an act in front of all of them. Sombra rubbed your back and the look on her face read that she wanted to do more for you, but it was difficult. You were grateful the uniform you were in was black so it hid the blood soaking from the bandage well.

As the jet landed Sombra grabbed your bag and hers while she did her best to usher you out first. Others lingered behind to cheer over their victory with their fellow soldiers but Sombra was focused on getting you away from the eyes of others as she looked down at your arm again.

“Oh, querida… Alright. This is fine. We’ll figure this out.” She assured you while you stood in an empty area alone. She pulled up your sleeve again to see the bandage she put on soaked in the area where the wound was, it made her sharply inhale and you saw a look of nausea overtake her.

“Maybe… Maybe I should go to Dr. O’Deorain-”

“No! You can’t go to her…” Sombra insisted and you looked at her fearfully.

“W-why not? Sombra, I need medical attention. This hurts really bad and I don’t feel all that good. She’s a doctor, I should trust her shouldn’t I?” You retorted while Sombra grew a look of fear. Maybe there was something she was hiding, you wanted to know what made her deny your want to seek medical attention… But at the current moment, you didn’t have much will to argue.

“I-... We’ll figure something out. You just can’t go to Moira, trust me. If you do, things won’t end pretty.”

“I-I don’t understand…”

“I can’t let her treat you like a guinea pig, just give me a moment to think…” She insisted. The two of you stood in this secluded area, Sombra for once expressing anxiousness while you gripped your bleeding arm and glanced around. After a bit of silence between the two of you, Sombra’s eyes grew with determination as she took your good arm and began to lead you away.

“Wait, where are we going?” You whispered and Sombra let out a shaky sigh as she tried to keep her to normality.

“We’re going to be seeing the Commander.”

“Wait, what? Won’t Commander Reaper just hand me over to Moira? Isn’t that what he’s supposed to do?” You asked in a worried tone as you were still brought along by Sombra

“He won’t. At least, I hope he won’t. Though he’s our only hope. If my other friend was here, things would be so much easier… I’m going out on a prayer that Reaper has at least a fraction of common decency and sense.” Sombra explained through clenched teeth as glanced back at you and observed your fragile and scared state. A flash of an undetermined expression crossed her face but you were unable to label it. It scared you how much she could read you but never let you read her as she looked forward again and the two of you went to find Reaper. It seemed everyone had their little secrets that you were not allowed to know of. Yet everyone was allowed to read you like a novel… It was unfair, but at least you were used to how unfair things could be.

Eventually, Sombra halted by a door to a room. The hallway you were in was somewhat familiar to you, as a few days prior you had been led down here to talk things over with the Successor. This made you conclude that this hallway was used for those who were a part of the Council. Your gaze landed to the floor as you were in thought as Sombra brought her hand up to the door and knocked with her knuckles on the slightly metal door. The sound of shuffling could be heard on the other side as well as a heavy growl-like sigh.

“Moira, if that’s you- you’re much earlier than you said yesterday. I have another hour and thirty min-”

“Commander, no. It’s Sombra and Y/n.” Sombra interrupted on the other side of the door and you heard him mutter under his breath.

“I’m busy, both of you go away.” Reaper hissed and Sombra’s face dropped with a look of anger and surprise.

“What? Hey, no, this is important! Get out here right now!”

“Sombra…” You muttered softly and she looked at you as her expression softened at yours. Your eyes expressing sadness mixed with pain and it could be heard in your voice as well. “Maybe I should just go to Dr. O’Derorain, I just need to get this fixed up.” You insisted softly. Sombra still had the want to argue this but just as she opened her mouth the sound of someone approaching the other side of Reaper’s door was heard and was opened to reveal the masked man himself. You were taken by surprise and Sombra had a smug look before replacing it with a neutral expression.

“What do you both want from me?” Reaper grumbled as if he had better things to do and Sombra nudged you forward.

“Y/n got shot.”

“Just in the arm.” You added in as you showed the arm you were holding which was starting to drip blood through the bandage that was failing to do its job. You couldn’t lie, it was just as painful as you remember the last time. Though you put on your bravest face through the pain. Reaper’s gaze fell onto your wounded arm and looked back up.

“How?”

“Tracer, she was the one who caught us off guard. We were running away and-”

“She was shooting for Sombra, and I took the bullet.” You interrupted once again and now you had Sombra shocked.

“Que? Y/n why would you?” She asked and you didn’t know what to exactly say. Your eyes landing from Sombra to Reaper and back to Sombra before you responded,

“It would have hit your body and… I couldn’t let you possibly die there. Not with the situation we were in.” You were honest as you could be without trying to sound too weak or sappy. Still, Reaper stood there with arms crossed as Sombra let the truth sink in and for once you saw the calm and collective woman express shock. It was as if she knew everything or could tell of what was to come, but your words had come blindsided to her.

Though soon enough she blinked and turned to Reaper and continued with why she was here.

“Look, sir. Is there anything you can do? If she goes to Moira… We could be losing an important new mind is all I’m saying just-”

“I’ll see what I can do. You’re lucky I’ve been shot enough times to know how to patch up those wounds. Now come on, I don’t have all the time in the day to be dealing with this.” He interrupted her while turning on his heels and motioning you to follow him in. You looked to Sombra with a nervous look and she patted your back.

“Thank you, Y/n. I guess I owe you one now… I’ll see you back at the room.” Her voice was thin and slightly full of acknowledgment while her eyes expressed the truest emotion you had ever seen from her to you. Even over the past few days where the two of you had gotten to know each other so well… She finally showed you trust. Before you could speak up to her, Sombra turned to hurry off and get to the room before anyone noticed her out and around.

With Sombra gone, you were left with the stiff and stern man that made you nervous. His voice caused you to shiver and caused you to feel severely inferior. Even as you entered his room you felt close to suffocating from the anxious feeling in your chest. The room was not full of anything lively which you could believe from such a man like Reaper. No direct light other than a small lamp on the nightstand beside a bed with dark sheets, a pillow, and one blanket. He moved over to a card table on the side of the room with two chairs paired with it which you assumed you were going to be sitting at for him to fix you up.

As you took your seat and placed your battered arm up on the table Reaper dug through a drawer to obtain what he needed. A silence hung over both of you before he grumbled,

“Do you get injured this often?” His tone condescending and you traced your vision to him. Not able to see very well due to the dim lighting from the one lamp in the room. His form cast a sinister shadow on the wall behind him as he shifted about.

“Well. Not much. I haven’t in a long time. I used to, a lot… The head of the medical department was getting tired of my frequent visits after missions, and I worried others but I knew what I did save a life in the end.” You spoke honestly and he finally turned back and you shrunk back in your seat out of fear he would have a distaste for your caring outlook.

“You need to learn to protect yourself and not others, every man for himself… Ever heard that?”

“I always thought that line was stupid. Though I could see why I should listen to that.” You mumbled as the memories of your life came over and if only you listened to that line maybe you would be in a better position than you were now. Reaper sat across from you and you let him peel off the blood-soaked bandage and do his best to patch you up. You flinched and feared how bad this would be, but to your surprise, he worked with no hesitation and no force. The psychopathic and undeterminable individual was actively not trying to hurt you while you were like this. You were lucky that Tracer’s weapons didn’t use actual bullets, so all he had to do was disinfect it and stitch you up.

Now and then you flinched from the pain but other than that you tried your best to look away and remain strong. Which became a bit easier as Reaper's low and sulky voice broke through to you.

"What happened once Overwatch fell? Where did you end up?" He questioned as you stared at the floor in thought. You contemplated whether you should tell a lie but then came to the conclusion that he would learn the truth later on. It was best to be honest.

"I stayed in Switzerland. I had nowhere else to go and I needed time to recover as I had sustained injuries from the Swiss Headquarter explosion, but no one knew I lived. To them, I died like the others." Your voice was soft as you recall that day and those who died. Though what caused it was a mess that tangled your heart up and left you clueless. Reaper continued to fix you up as he too fell quiet.

"That only solidifies why Overwatch was built on top of foolish people and their idea of fixing problems." He soon grumbled and you finally looked up to Reaper with sad eyes.

"It wasn't just those who thought problems could be fixed with easy solutions. It was the lying. It was the fake comments and fibbing of plans. If only people were honest there, maybe Overwatch would have been a better place. Maybe I wouldn't have lost those I cared about the most." Your voice trailed off as Reaper had stopped to meet your gaze. You felt your chest become tight and you wanted to sob as you would have years ago, but now was the worst time you ever could. Especially in front of the heartless Commander who had no will or want to care. "The world doesn't need heroes. It needs time. At least. I think it does. Then again, it has been five years and I feel the same as I did the day everything fell apart." You muttered as you looked away once more.

Reaper said nothing. He wasn't sure what to say. His eyes fell on you and for the first time in five years, his heart ached. Not out of pity or want to comfort you, but out of pure sadness. He had involuntarily caused your suffering and pain and to him, that was the last thing he wanted. Even after all these years, after all this time where he believed his soul had hardened and his heart had turned black… Seeing you, hearing your voice, receiving your sorrow. He felt like he was Gabriel again. Though that then brought up his own question.

When was he ever Gabriel and not Reaper? Did he revoke his name and life the moment he followed through with what he did? Did he give you up and willingly do so without ever knowing it as a repercussion? How much damage did he do without seeing it as damage, but as revenge? Could he ever be Gabriel again, or had he lost that right?

All the while, you sat staring at the floor as the words you left suspended in the air. The thought of it all, and the sheer discord you had not seen happening above you. You thought you were once helping where help was needed the most, but supposedly that only left you more of a fool in the end. Now, look where it got you… In the hands of a cruel terrorist organization that frankly couldn’t care less if you lived or died.

Reaper continued to patch up your arm in silence as it seemed he had no more thoughts on the matter, which was fair. You had spoken up in the most awkward way possible and this man didn’t need to hear your sob story, nor did he want to. Though your heart was shattered more than you would like to admit and there would be a point it would catch up to you. Maybe that time was coming sooner than you would like.

While Reaper wrapped up your arm, stitched up and no longer a bleeding mess, his gravelly voice came out as a hushed whisper almost.

“Keep working hard. That’s all I can say… You have gotten this far. Though you won’t get far if you keep acting like such a bleeding heart.” His words caused you to smile sadly as you started with a soft chuckle and soon crescendoed to a fit of giggles. Reaper paused from wrapping your bandage as he was confused by your giggle fit. A feeling of bittersweetness struck you and you couldn’t help but laugh at the universe’s cruelty to you for once.

“I-I… I’m sorry, just your words sound like something someone would have said to me before. I’m pretty sure he said something like that... I never live and learn, and I hope he isn’t mad at where I am. I’ll keep working sir, thank you for patching me up.” You finally collected yourself to say, as Reaper finished up with a grumble.

“I’m sure you’re forgiven. Not everyone ends up where they want, and sometimes we end up in the worse places expected from our desires. Head out, now. I have a meeting to prepare for. Don’t let Dr. O’Deorain see your bandages, understood?”

“Y-yes, sir. Thank you again.” You insisted as you rose to your feet and he remained seated.

“Don’t thank me. It’s not necessary.” He sighed and you gave a soft smile and some choice words before leading yourself to the door.

“Everyone needs a bit of thanks, no matter what. That’s all that matters to me. Take care Commander.” And with that, you were gone.

Reaper rested his head in his hands and so much welled up within him. Pain, anger, regret, sadness, guilt, and a desire to hold on to the one thing from his past. He couldn’t though. No matter how much he wanted to, Gabriel had sold his name and his past in many ways to become Reaper. If he turned back now, Talon would strip him of what made him feel this way and he couldn’t afford to have you die a second time.

With all of this bottled up and waving over his senses, Reaper let out a low growl into a yell, tossing the lightweight table onto its side and scattering the medical materials he had left on it. A wave of guilt followed suit and choked back the want to cry. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, but he did anyway.

He wanted it back. All of it. Even Morrison’s shitty comments, or Mccree’s constant chattering. He would take it all back if it meant he had you, and not just you but the kind-spirited woman who couldn’t care who was in charge or who knew and who didn’t of them. As he sat on the floor against the side of the bed he took his mask off and tried to compose himself.

He reached for you, and yet you were still unaware. Obliviously unaware but you were there, and to him, you had not changed at all on the outside. Within though, he had broken you without intending to. His actions were unforgivable, he was unforgivable, but he knew what he would have to do to set his wrongs.

He would make sure you made it alive, but he knew that at some point… You would have to know who was dead, and who was just as alive as she.


	13. Chapter 13: What Once Was There

You entered yours and Sombra’s room to find Sombra sitting at her desk looking at her holo monitor. The sound of you opening the door caused the woman to stop what she was doing and close it down to face who had entered, and when her eyes fell on you she gave a smile.

“There you are, amiga. How’s the arm?”

“It’s um… An arm. I guess? Heh, it still hurts a bit but not as bad as it did. I can’t believe Reaper helped me out. He doesn’t seem like the type of person to do that.” You explained while you rubbed the back of your head. Sombra’s smile remained but ever so slightly did you see it soften as she came forward with a bit more empathy.

“Eh, he likes certain people more than others… Y/n, you’re one stupid but brave girl. You do know you didn’t need to take a bullet for me, right?” Her voice changed from joking and carefree to a bit more serious. Sincerity took over and it made the mood of the room shift.

“I had to though… You’re my only friend here. As stupid as it may sound, but I take my friends as family. I won’t allow my family to get hurt or die like that. Not after all you’ve done for me.” You insisted as you stepped in and allowed yourself to sit on the edge of your bed while the two of you talked. Sombra’s gaze fell away from you and landed onto the floor as she continued to let her smile remain.

“I suppose. I guess since you saved my life… And to each other, we’re ‘family’. The least I can do is tell you my real name.” her voice was ever so soft and gentle, yet her words struck you as shocked.

“Your real name isn’t Sombra?” You gawked and this earned a chuckle from the Hispanic woman.

“Of course it isn’t dumbass, I’m a hacker. I’m supposed to be all-knowing and little known about me. Though my name is Olivia. Olivia Colomar.” She admitted and this made you look at Sombra, or Olivia, in a new light. A bit more of a realistic view.

“Wow. I would have never guessed that. It’s a nice name to have.” You smiled softly and Sombra rolled her eyes.

“Alright, whatever Ms. Compliments. Just don’t go around telling others. You’re the only person I’ve told here, so let’s keep it that way.” She ensured and you nodded swiftly.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll keep calling you Sombra anyway. I feel as if it fits you better, you don’t seem like an Olivia.” You joked causing your purple-haired friend to scoff and throw a pillow from her bed at you.

“¡Cállate! ¡Cabrón!” She screeched earning a loud laugh from you. You knew that if you needed to, you would save Sombra’s life in a heartbeat. Deep down, she was family. She was now all you had. You couldn’t lose someone you trusted with your life...

  
  


****

  
  


_Despite the warm season, you could remember how cold the mornings could be. The air condition throughout the compound was always set to the coldest setting during the late summer days and it was always unpleasant. Especially in the morning when the world was untouched for hours during the night while the cold air accumulated and built up. Though he made the mornings a bit warmer. With an arm wrapped around your waist and being pressed up against one another._

_He was the warmth you didn't think you would ever need but found yourself wanting more than anything. Your light through the darkest time, and to yourself, you thought he saw you the same. Times had gotten harder, it was all becoming scary… Nothing could prepare you for the terror that Overwatch was starting to face. The news was becoming darker and at every turn, you began to deny your affiliation with the group in public. It was for the best… Being a part of Overwatch was beginning to do more bad than good._

_Yes, not only were you lying to yourself but you were also lying to those around you. Then again, you were beginning to grow used to lying through your teeth as desperate times called for desperate measures. While Overwatch was falling apart, you were clinging to him. Gabriel. As if he was a lifeboat in an openly vast and hungry sea, you clung to him as the time to abandon ship was fast approaching. He faced his own issues and backlash, though at the end of the day… You had one another. Right?_

_When Overwatch struck the news negatively once more despite sacrificing so much. Even after losing the 2nd in Command: Ana Amari, in a rescue strike mission. When you would break down or even Gabriel was close to… You had each other. Though not for too much longer._

_Especially as the morning sun crept through the window and past the blinds landing within his quarters. Just your luck, you were the one facing the window and the sun made you flinch as it hit your closed eyelids. You did your best to roll over and just have five more minutes but the world refused to show you kindness. While you rolled over to about the sun, Gabriel began to stir and you knew your time would end soon._

_Whenever the sun rose and life within base sparked once again, you both had to split apart and act as if you weren't each other's second half. No one could know of what you both had, especially Commander Jack Morrison. He had already started getting more and more on Gabriel's ass about his decisions… There was no need to add more cannon fodder, let alone that it was highly frowned upon. So you and Gabe would go separate ways and when night fell, you would sneak out for a date night or hide in his room from the eyes of the others. Nighttimes were what you desired and looked forward to the most._

_You wondered if he felt the same._

_Just as you rolled over to shield yourself from the sun, you saw his chestnut shaded eyes open and land on your settling body now facing him. He was in a mild daze from just stirring awake and all he knew was that you had rolled over causing him to wake. Though when he saw why a soft sigh escaped him and he knew it was time to get up. You didn’t want him to leave, not yet… Just a bit longer. In these hard and draining times, him being beside you was what you needed to feel a bit more whole again. Then again, he had been drifting further from you without completely thinking about it._

_Gabriel always came off as tired and agitated while also explaining he was just sore from all the work he was doing. You claimed that he wasn’t that old to be acting that way just yet which would earn a sincere chuckle from the much older man. Though his smile was still forced and at glances, he seemed deep in pain over something. You had told him time and time again_

_“Hey, you can tell me if anything is wrong. Alright?"_

_He would always nod but never did he tell you a thing. You feared the worst. You feared losing him and being alone, especially when you believed both of you were going to stick it out until Overwatch would fall whenever that would be. Then again, with all the accusations in the news and all the tension around… That time seemed fast approaching. You couldn’t lose each other now. Not now, not ever. Not after all you had both been through in your lives before Overwatch._

_Though as Gabriel sat up and ran one of his hands over his face to rub away the groggy feeling of sleep, you knew it today was inevitable and you would once again be praying for the evening to fall faster than it ever could. All while you remained in the bed and stared up at him. Admiring his features down to the smallest scars on his face and arms as it sparked an ache in your heart, infatuation kindling within you as everything about him made your body go numb._

_His warm eyes, his charming smile, the tone of his arms and entire body- looking at him and taking in his physical form was like a drug to you by this point. Not only that but the way he thought and spoke to you, especially when alone, with a low voice and a mellow inflection… When with him, he was your world. It was as if time froze just for you both but to your demise that was never the case. Especially now, while he was getting up and the bed was already starting to become cold with his missing presence._

_“Do you have to get up so early?” You murmured from where you laid which caught Gabriel’s attention. While he looked back at you could already register your disappointment._

_“I got to. Got my own things to handle before Morrison tries to rip me open.” He muttered as you saw a look of confliction cross him._

_“Look, Jack has nothing on you… He has no reason to treat you the way he does.” You insisted but it only made him chuckle._

_“He has no reason not to by this point.” Was all he interjected as he began gathering his clothes to get dressed and shower in the bathroom. All the while, you finally sat up and watched him with a sad expression while the large comforter that was once wrapped around you both now hung loosely off of your shoulders._

_“Gabriel…” Was all you could muster. Your voice weakened by his response as you didn’t want him to feel like he deserved this treatment. Your careful yet breaking tone made the man in front of you pause and snap his gaze back to you. The feeling in the room was held by the morning rays that lit up his face for you to see. To you, all you saw was a man who’s cracks were showing and all you wanted was to hold him together just a bit longer. Just so the two of you could last through this._

_From his perspective, he saw the shadow cast on you from the sun’s light peeking around your frame. To Gabriel, it was like a halo that fit you so well but never were these the words he would tell you to your face. He took in your smaller form wrapped with the comforter you both shared during the night. The eyes he adored to gaze into which were now full of concern for him… You were his angel, and indeed you were the light through the darkness that he never expected he would need. There was so much you didn’t know about him or his situation, but he couldn’t blame you for not knowing. Gabe kept his matters to himself and one other person for your safety. He didn’t want you to worry, but that was inevitable with how you were._

_He wished he could stay with you no matter how far into the day it would become. He wanted to get back into bed and hold you so close that you wouldn’t need to worry. For you to smile with the same grace and purity that warmed his heart and made all the pain he was feeling go away. Emotionally and physically. He wanted to be there for you the most. He didn’t know much about you, but learning about your past was not difficult with time and an open ear. The small subtle hints that you had no one else left for you, and if Overwatch fell tomorrow- where would you go? Gabriel didn’t want to let a woman like you run into a bad situation when the world was openly cruel._

_He still denied deserving you. He refused to accept that he was what you needed and instead feared that his actions would only continue to hurt you. It was all piling up, and over time he dreaded where you would fall then the gloves came off. He wouldn’t be mad if you learned the truth and you refused to stand by him, but it seemed that while you were still in the dark… You weren’t going anywhere. This only made the pain in his body ache more as he stared down at you and felt utterly in shambles as you just wanted to pull him back._

_The comfort tempted him. Your warm embrace and fluttering voice as the morning sun invited you both into a delicate cradle. Where his pain would vanish and your fears would evaporate, you were both stronger when together. Through the losses, through the deaths, and through the backlash of time; you were that other half of the other. You had one another’s backs and it would stay that way for forever… Right?_

_Gabriel let a small breath flit past his lips as he strode back over to his side of the bed where he stared down at you. Your perspective of each other was far different than you would both think. Especially as he brought one of his hands up and caressed your soft face, cupping your cheek as he brushed his calloused thumb across your smooth skin. You found comfort in how gentle he could be despite how intimidating he was built, and he could never be more grateful to have a woman as angelic as you by his side despite all he had done and would do._

_“I would love to stay in bed a bit longer, but I can’t. I owe you though. I promise we can go out tonight, my treat?” His tone of voice was just a bit softer, in a tone that made you melt as he leaned down closer to you. He knew just what to say and how to say it to make your chest feel light and your face to heat up… He was just too good._

_“Alright… Sure. It sounds like an amazing plan.” You gave in with a timid smile that earned a chuckle which resonated within him. Just before he leaned further in and gave you a tender kiss. The 5 o’clock he had yet to shave down in certain spots paired with his usual goatee tickled you as you returned the kiss. Your lips turned into a soft smile as your eyes fluttered shut and you enjoyed this moment, just because you wouldn’t feel this again until tonight._

_As Gabriel pulled away and you opened your eyes once more, you saw a quick look of a loving expression as he spoke up._

_“Thank you, cariño. You know where to meet me tonight then… Stay safe today.” He insisted as he moved to get dressed in the bathroom, you would slip out before anyone else woke up so you could sneak back to your room._

_“I will. Don’t let Mccree annoy you too much today during training.” You added while you began to slip out of the warm bed and into the cold world around you._

_“That’s a harder promise to keep when the kid never shuts the Hell up, but I will try.” He responded with a snicker and you paired it with a soft giggle from yourself._

_“Alright. Well, I love you, Gabriel.”_

_“I love you too, Y/n.” He responded and you both parted ways for the day. Not to see one another again until the veil of night hid the two of you away from the rest of the base’s view._


	14. Chapter 14: Under Watchful Eyes

When the next morning came and Sombra, who you remained to just call her that out of pure instinct by this point, stood on your bed above you to wake you up, you knew it would be yet another chaotic day within this new life you began to make for yourself. It was time for training, and while Reaper had done an amazing job at patching up your arm the day before, you feared that any physical exertion would damage it further.

“Sombra, please… Give me five more minutes?” You complained as the Hispanic woman towered over your sleeping form while bouncing on the mattress of the bed.

“No, I can’t. We have to head down to The Successor's office today. Instead of training, he’ll be giving us information on how our past mission went… So you’re lucky today, amiga. Is your arm still bothering you?” She rambled on as she then saw you sitting up and let herself down from your bed with little to no noise.

“Huh? Kinda… That, and I feel like shit overall.” You groaned while she stretched her arms behind her head.

“Ah, well that’s just normal. Come on, Commander Reaper still doesn’t want us to be late and we’re gathering with a few members of the Council in this also. Try wearing a long-sleeved shirt, just in case Dr. O’Deorain is there. We can’t let her see that injury.” She insisted as you looked down at the bandages Reaper had dressed your wound with yesterday.

“Of course. Alright, lemme start getting ready.” You agreed as you pulled yourself from your bed and rubbed your face. The dream you had last night lingered with you as it made your chest ache. 

Now was not the time for sad memories as Sombra tossed basic clothes at you and told you once again to get ready. There was no time for memories at a time and place like this. 

  
  


****

  
  


After dressing in a dark t-shirt topped with a camo bomber jacket and a pair of denim jeans, all of which were given to you by Sombra, you both made your way to The Successor's office where Widowmaker and the other two male Operatives stood outside. Most likely waiting for your Commander.

"Ey! Look, the newbie is alive after her first mission… Not too beaten up, are you girly?" The larger built one continued to tease as you were not completely awake to be dealing with him.

“Cut it out. I’m not in the mood.” You snapped and Widow even looked on at you with a bit of surprise as the man had a brief passing moment of shock and disgust at your sudden backbone. Just as he stepped back up and you feared he would strangle you right then and there, the clearing of a throat caused all your heads to turn and see your Commander with Dr. O’Deorain.

“What did I tell you about picking on your fellow teammates. All of you are on your best behavior, you’re standing out the Successor’s office about to enter it. Act like it.” Reaper reprimanded you all like a bunch of children and you felt your face heat up with embarrassment as Dr. O’Deorain cleared her throat.

“I’m sure they’re just all riled up about this meeting, I would be too… Let me be the first to compliment you all on a job well done yesterday. Especially with a new member such as Y/n. I heard you and Sombra made a wonderful team.” She looked down at you and a chill went up your spine, tucking your arms behind your back and giving the doctor a solemn nod.

“Thank you, Dr. O’Deorain.”

“Yeah, Y/n saved my ass. She’s a great addition, just like assumed.” Sombra covered the compliments as Dr. O’Deorain nodded and the small band of bodies within the hallway shifted to enter the Successor’s office. Dr. O’Deorain slid herself next to you though as a Cheshire grin crossed her face.

“So nothing happened badly yesterday during the mission? No bumps or bruises?” She persisted and you knew better than to tell her the truth. With a brief shake of your head, you made sure you acted like your right arm didn’t feel heavy like lead or burned when you moved it even a bit more than you should have. 

“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.” Your voice was feathery as you did your best to come off as polite to the doctor beside you. Sombra had already entered and had not seen Dr. O’Deorain start speaking to you. You were alone in this it seemed, and you believed your answer would be enough to cut the conversation clean though the doctor had more to talk about it seemed as she let out a small and amused hum. She leaned down a bit and placed a hand on your forearm, the one that hurt enough as it was, as she made it seem like she was giving a gentle pat when all you could describe is the pain it still held.

“Alright, alright… I’m just making sure the new little recruit has not damaged themself already beyond repair. Though are you sure you’re fine? You look pale.” Her tone lowered and her eyelids sank a bit more as she stared you down like the snake she was. Her grip on your arm tightened ever so slightly and you were close to letting out a sharp cry of pain when a large hand was placed on your opposite shoulder and you were pulled away from Dr. O’Deorain. A small squeak passed your lips as you looked up to who had done this to see your masked commander eyeing up the doctor as his gloved hand rested on your shoulder.

It felt warm, even through the gloves he wore and how cold he always looked, Reaper’s hand upon your shoulder brought you a minor sense of calm. Especially as he tucked you behind him a bit as this seemed to once again be a face-off between two Council members, like the other day when you had gotten beaten up by Widowmaker.

You simply hid back as Dr. O’Deorain stood up straight, towering over Reaper surprisingly as she crossed her arms and her smug look vanished.

“I told you to stop harassing my agents, doc,” Reaper spoke up first and the ginger woman merely blinked innocently at him.

“I was not doing anything of the such, Reaper. Merely conversing with such a bright young soul… No need to be so protective.” The venom lacing her voice made Reaper tense up and you glanced up to them both. A heavy weighted tension carried soon after before Reaper, with his hand still on your good shoulder, pushed you to enter the Succsessor’s office. 

“Go sit with the rest of the team, agent. I’ll be in shortly.” And with nothing else to say to even argue the matter, you nodded before quickly entering the room and leaving Reaper and Dr. O’Deorain behind.

Upon entering, a seat was open next to Sombra within the room as The Successor stood talking to an Omnic man and a few others who you dubbed as other members of the Council. Seats lined the wall behind the Successor’s desk where the few Council members here would sit, Reaper and Dr. O’Deorain included. While the rest of the Operative team would sit facing the Council on the opposite side of the desk to hear what news they wanted to tell. Sombra looked to you when the door opened with a brief look of confusion that soon shifted to concern. Just as you approached to take your seat next to her, she whispered,

“What happened?”

“Dr. O’Deorain and Commander Reaper. I got stuck in a small confrontation between them. It’s fine. I’m okay.” You responded just as soft as you took your seat and placed your hands in your lap. Sombra pursed her lips for a moment.

“Dr. O’Deorain didn’t see your injury, did she?” She asked next and you were quick to chime back,

“No. I made sure she didn’t. Though she gripped my arm hard… She almost did find out unless I simply played it off like she was a bit too rough.” Your eyes trailing from Sombra back to all the different figures standing by the Successor and talking in hushed voices. You wondered what was the news they had for your team…

Just then, the door opened once again to reveal Commander Reaper and Dr. O’Deorain walking in after their mysterious interaction outside. Neither looked at you, which didn’t help ease your nerves. What could they have talked about? Were they talking about you? Most likely… They strolled in towards their respective open seats and the Successor looked to them as they entered.

“There you two are. It isn’t like you for both Reaper and Dr. O’Deorain to be late.” His deep and rich Nigerian accent filled the room and reverbed off of the walls and sent a small chill down your spine. The tall and built male made you fear him even more with a voice like that.

“Forgive us, Successor. The Commander and I needed to discuss something small, nothing to concern you over.” Dr. O’Deorain gave her usual smile which you began to catch onto the facade behind it. The Successor gave her a brief glance before looking at Reaper, who had already taken his seat and behind the white mask, no one could see what he could be feeling. Alluding to the assumption that he never felt though he had to feel something if he was willing to help patch up your arm and keep you from being a possible science experiment for Dr. O’Deorain. He was hard to figure out… That was all.

“Very well. Don’t let this happen again. We don’t have all day, so let’s get this meeting underway so we can go about our days.” The Successor sighed as he took his seat and the other members of the Council here took their seats as well. The ebony man picked up a folder of documents that were so minuscule compared to the size of his hands, it was almost comedic. Almost. “To start, I want to congratulate the team on their successful mission. Very well executed, especially Widow and Commander Reaper for retrieving the energy source. This will aid us in our future endeavors. You all impress me very much… Our next topic to discuss if future missions. I wish to bring up a large one expected in roughly a month held in Moscow, Russia. This will be a gala where I’ll be meeting with a possible associate, but I will need you all on high alert due to some other news.

“With bitter news, we have come forward to realize that we’ve got competition coming back from the dead. Overwatch.” The Successor looked up from his papers as you bit your tongue at this news as sudden as it was. A thousand-yard stare grew on your eyes as you glanced to Sombra for comfort only to get a minor shrug as she turned her gaze back to the Council. There was no time for weakness here was what you could tell from her movements so you too kept looking forward as the Successor continued.

“We did get reports of Agent Lean Oxton, callsign: Tracer. And the damn Monkey Scientist: Winston, while during the mission in Spain which was a duo not expected, but was no hassle anyway. Amazing work to Ms. Y/n and Sombra for handling Agent Oxton, especially from our newcomer.” He looked at you which caught you by surprise but after years of lying, you were able to plaster a small smile to your lips and give a small nod. Staying humble and calm…

“Thank you, Successor.”

“Thanks, sir. See- I knew Y/n would be a great investment.” Sombra added with a warm laugh and it broke your awkwardness. The rest of the Council seemed annoyed or wary by Sombra’s comment though the Hispanic woman never seemed to care as she shot you a soft grin and you returned it. 

“Yes, Sombra. Thank you for the input. With the activity of those two previous agents, I had a few other agents come back with intel of certain locations which we can only come up with one conclusion. Intel from the Null Sector of an attack on Paris matched with a plan Reaper had half gained intel on a few months back… We can believe Overwatch is in an attempted revival- which we cannot let happen. We have gotten much further with our plans after the fall of Overwatch. Your next mission? In about two weeks from now, you will all be shipped to Paris to cut down whatever could be lingering to grow on Overwatch. Understood?” The Successor asked and as a collective everyone trickled in with,

“Yes sir.” Even you. Though as your mouth moved and your voice trickled out, your mind was somewhere else. Hung on the fact that Overwatch was in a state of revival. All of your friends, people you saw as family, would be coming together once again… And no one knew you were alive. They all thought you were dead. Well, everyone except Lena. Would Lena tell them? Or would she refuse to even acknowledge you after finding out where you went after faking your death?

You weren’t the one to fake your death, you ended up dead to them. No one ever checked, they only assumed. You were forgotten, under rubble and debris, you didn’t matter to them. If they cared enough, they would have saved you, wouldn’t they have? Would they? This internal battle swirled in your chest, blocking out the rest of the world so much that you didn’t hear the Successor dismiss you all to go on about your days as he would continue talking with his Council members for a bit longer.

Sombra rose to her feet first and placed a hand on your left shoulder as she saw your gaze stuck on the floor.

“Hey, amiga. Come- not every day we get a semi free day, so… We celebrate and relax like besties. What do you think? A bit of relaxation after all the shit we’ve had to handle.” She asked as your eyes met and her amethyst orbs sparkled with a bit of mischief. Whatever she had planned was going to be a bit interesting at least.

“Alright… You’ve got my attention. Sure.” You agreed as you rose from your seat. Sombra began to usher you out, but you allowed one last look over the office as the Successor faced away from the agents as they were already talking quietly amongst his fellow Council members. The only people who were watching you leave were Commander and Dr. O’Deorain… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone for the small hiatus of a week or two, I was getting covered in college work- Midterm stuff, ya know? Even Community College is killer- haha. Well. I hope this was good enough, I dunno how long I will take on the next chapter but things should be calming down again until the middle of December when finals roll around. With that said, I’ll see you all later! Whenever that may be! Ciao!
> 
> -S_I_R


	15. Chapter 15: Just Pretend

Sombra’s idea of fun was sneaking out to the surface building of Talon’s base. A warehouse that was used as the front of the underground operation and yet it was rarely touched. How had no one noticed this… Maybe it was hard to see as an outside source. Though as Sombra snuck you up to the surface, the day was your oyster as you poked around Rome’s streets and she gave you a hint of normalcy you had long desired again. Getting coffee, window shopping, chatting as if you two had no care in the world- cracking jokes as Italian strangers gave you strange looks.

Sombra had dawned herself in a dark mauve hoodie to hide her distinguishing identity, and to combat against the sweeping cold air. Mid fall weather brushed leaves up and around you while you sat in a park, shifting through your hair and briskly kissing the bare skin on your face and hands when you didn’t try to hide them in the pockets of your bomber jacket. The fiery and golden leaves of the season fell from trees around if they had not already and you knew this would lead to the barren branches for winter.

This impending sense of seasons at least grounded you in time. Where the past was a blur and the future was yet another pondering thought of ‘what if’s’. The cool air that chilled you to the bone was like a wake-up call. One that shook you ever so slightly to keep you awake and to not slip away to the past or future, not yet. There were times over the past five years where you would want to fall asleep and be whisked away to the start once again. Like a second try. Maybe that time you could right all the wrongs, save him… Save yourself. Run a bit faster, scream a bit louder, be a bit more honest. You wanted to see him again. While your fates were strange and your lives carved from cruelty- he was the man of your dream just about twenty-five years ahead.

Reaching for a leaf that fell from the maple tree above the two of you, Sombra stopped to see you catch the soft ruby leaflet. Pointed at stared ends with veins you could trace your fingers over.

“What. Never seen a leaf before?” Sombra snickered and you looked to her with lost eyes full of surprise.

“Huh? No… No. I-... I guess I haven’t had time to stop and observe nature in such a long time. Back in Overwatch, I would sit on the roof with someone. We used to observe the city lights of Switzerland from afar, and also observe the trees change color. It sounds stupid, but those times were the best.” You finally gave a smile to her. Timid and shy, but a smile nonetheless. Sombra let this click as her gaze softened and you felt a question well up within you.

“You know. Don’t you. Who I am talking about? You know everything… I know you do.” You breathed and the Hispanic woman shifted her weight as her hands remained hidden in her pockets. Possibly fidgeting with them while keeping them tucked away.

“Yeah, Y/n. I do.” She said your real name in place of her usual and playful ‘amiga’. The tone between you became heavy but it was better to feel it here and now instead of later in a worse situation. Right now, you and Sombra were not villains or terrorists. You were just best friends out on a walk. Talking. And it just so happened that she knew your identity like the back of her hand even better than you did sometimes. Normal best friend stuff.

”Then you know he’s dead. Long gone... “ You added as you looked down at the leaf in your hands. Taking in its warm color. Sombra felt her stomach shift. She knew more than you. So much more. She almost gave it away, that he wasn’t gone. He was alive. Well… Kind of. He was breathing, at least she thought. She never stared long enough to check. Though for the sake of not just your sanity but also his, she kept her mouth shut and turned her gaze to the ground. 

"I know… And I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing you did, in a way… he brought it upon himself. As much as I hate to admit it, but he did. I wish I could have done something. Anything even.” You ended with a sad laugh but it wasn’t the end of your sentence, as you took in another breath and looked up to Sombra. Catching each other’s gazes once again and you did your best to still keep composed. “There was no changing him. There was no reasoning. He was far down his road of revenge and trials before I could even call myself a part of his life.” your voice added and Sombra stepped closer to you. Wanting to say so much, how could she lie to your face after you had saved her life? For once she felt guilt rile up inside of her chest and to Sombra, it felt like she was suffocating.

“Hey, look… Even if so much has gone bat shit crazy, I’m sure Gabriel Reyes still loved you. Up until his end.” She laced her arm across your shoulders and pulled you into a friendly side hug.

“I don’t know if he did. I don’t know if he ever truly did if this is how it had to end… Even so, I never go a day without having him or anything about Overwatch cross my mind. We were at our most vulnerable when it was new and reaching its golden age. For me, that organization was like a sign from God. It was the same for many others who joined… Now that it’s gone. How can I forget it, ya know?” You saw how Sombra’s expression became full of her own past, whatever that may have been. Though you knew the two of you weren’t far in age. You had both been through difficult times as well if it meant you both ended up in Talon’s hands. You soon rubbed your thumb against the soft leaf that had not yet dried as you continued, “How can I forget what I once was? Who I was once with? I thought Overwatch would be forever… I thought those relationships would be too. Now? It’s a dead group. I’m a dead girl. With a dead lover…

“What does this mean for us if Overwatch is coming back?” You finished off with that question and Sombra let out a gentle sigh.

“It means we’ll just have to be careful, amiga. Overwatch may be alive, but so are you…” So was your lover but Sombra kept her mouth shut on that one. “We’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you stay safe. That’s what friends are for, no?” She regained her playful smile full of more lies than you could ever know. Though it was still all you needed for you to return the expression with a smile of your own.

“Sure. It’s getting a bit late… Want to head back?” You turned the topic to something else as it was starting to reach late in the afternoon. Almost evening time.

“First, I want to make one more stop. Then we can chill back at the base. We still have the night to ourselves too, and it’s not every day I have someone to chill with instead of watching movies alone.” The woman you called a friend gained her perky attitude back as she took your arm and began to lead you away. Dropping the leaf that you had caught just as you were dropping the topic of your losses.

  
  


****

  
  


As hours passed, you and Sombra had gotten back to the base but didn’t want to give away the light you had and the fresh air you were feeling for the first time in a while- so you remained on top of the roof of the warehouse to drink some beers Sombra insisted on buying for the two of you. While this was far from Overwatch, Sombra wanted to give you a sense of familiarity… To take in the world and feel a bit more like your old self.

As the two of you sat you both told stories of your pasts. Laughing and drinking as the rest of the day passed and the sun kissed the horizon. The air became crisper and slightly more frigid, but your time with Sombra felt good to let it end. You didn’t want to go back to it all if you were being honest. Though, you were starting to realize you didn’t want to go back to your little home in Switzerland either. What you truly wanted to go back to was Overwatch. 

Waking up in a bed that wasn’t yours but you were invited into. The feeling of the warmth of the heaters or the crispness that was left by the air conditioners. You wanted to go back to training each morning, having breakfast with Lena, visiting Angela, tinkering on your pistols, working on paperwork…. All these small mundane actions to the naked eye seemed like paradise for you. They were, for a long time it was the life you dreamed of having because you had so many others around you to rely on.

Lena to poke her head in and sit and chat as you worked at your desk. Angela to roll her eyes when you would show up in her office to make sure she had a fresh coffee in the afternoon, Mccree would end up in the workout room at the same time as you and even strike a long and amusing conversation you would never really pay attention to, but hey… It was something. From Reinhardt’s bizarre stories to Commander Amari treating you and some of the younger Agents like 2nd children to her when on her off time, you felt like you had a family once again.

Now as the sunset on the day, Sombra set her empty bottle down with a satisfied hum while her amethyst eyes caught a glint of the last rays of today’s sun.

“Alright. I’m calling it at three beers before I get too out of hand, amiga. Want to call it a day and go get dinner?” She took her three bottles and contemplated being responsible by recycling them or letting her inner devil take over to just chuck them over the roof to hear them hit and shatter on the hard ground below. She decided against it as she took her bottles with her towards the access door back down into the warehouse.

“Huh? Oh, you can go. I just want to stay here. Just a bit longer.” You trailed off and Sombra halted to look back at you.

“You sure? You’re not gonna get lost on your way back without me?” Her lips curled and showed her teeth a bit. A genuine smile. You returned her comment with hollow laughs encased in sarcasm.

“Very funny. I won’t get lost. Trust me… I just want some time to think, is all.”

“Alright, alright. Just don’t go running off.” She chirped back as her last statement as the hatch could be heard opening behind you and soon shutting a few seconds later. The sound of the metal latch sealing gave you a sense of true solitude. The setting sun, and a half-drunk beer with three more remaining in the pack of six… This was a nice way to spend the evening in your eyes.

Your gaze crossed over the skyline of Rome, as the sun kissed the world goodnight and until the warm colors shifted to pinks, then purples, and rich blue. Starts began to appear where the lights were not yet turned on or would remain off for the rest of the evening and with the lack of natural sunlight you began to see the city as if it was Switzerland all over again. Maybe it was the lights looking so familiar, or the fact that you were a lightweight and the effects of your beer were truly showing… But in the veil of night. It felt like a chilly autumn night you would have spent with him.

As you finished off your beer and set the empty glass down you allowed yourself to close your eyes and pretend. For once you allowed yourself this luxury. You always tried your hardest to not give in to these painful desires, of pretending that everything would be okay if you closed your eyes but as of right now it didn’t seem harmful. You knew well enough that when you opened your eyes, you would be where you truly were… Though just this once you wanted to close your eyes and believe you were in Switzerland on top of the Overwatch Headquarters, and he was there. Gabriel.

And he would always tease you for simply taking in the view with silence. It came in handy now. As you swore you could almost hear his rich voice. The warmth in his tone as you would both drink on top of the building and let the world melt away while telling stories. Hell, even the one time you could hear music playing loudly from in the city somewhere at a party and you sang along. Gabe laughed at your not so perfect pitch and you asked him if he could do better which made him quickly shut up. The music was a nice treat to have as the night progressed, the two of you even took to dancing, and by three beers in, you were both fine with it. His arms around your form as a brief gust of wind came over and filled your senses.

Then and there… You wished you could freeze time. Or wished you were Lena and at least could go back to relive it a few times over. You just wanted Gabriel again. You wanted your comfort. You wanted the man who once brought you joy and was now gone… Forever.

Closing your eyes made that sense of loneliness go away as you fooled yourself well to think he was with you. That was until you opened your eyes and were met with Rome once more… But the sense of another presence never left. Gabe was not here. No. Someone else was. Your breathing hitched as you head a shuffle of steps to confirm it. You spun back around to where the hatch was to see Commander Reaper with his pearly white mask stare at you and even approaching. Fear struck your heart first as you questioned if this was even allowed… Were you supposed to be up here? Oh God, if you were in trouble… How bad would it be?

He must have seen this fear painted on your face, probably from widened eyes because as he approached he put his hands up a bit.

“I’m not here to strike fear, Y/n. Don’t worry…” He started in his usual gruff tone. No matter what he said or what tone he intended to say with it, he always seemed angered and agitated. Maybe that was just your mind simply assuming he was nothing more than a fear-inducing and angered individual. You still told yourself to relax, dropping the tension in your shoulders and your facial expression returning to a neutral state as you spoke up.

“Then… Why are you here? Did you know I was up here?” You then wondered. Had Sombra given away your location for whatever reason? You highly doubted it but you never knew what truly ran through her mind…

“No. I didn’t. I come up here to think, is all.”

“Oh, then… I guess we think alike.” You felt a small chuckle rise as you spoke which died out halfway through as you weren’t sure how humor would be inflicted on this guy. He was such an enigma. Either way, Reaper strolled closer until he was right alongside you, right where Sombra once was before surprising you by taking a seat. Were you supposed to be still? Frozen? As if he was a bird that if you moved, he would fly away?

“How has your arm been holding up?” He asked after a few moments of silence. Still caught off guard by him taking a seat beside you, you didn’t answer right away… Though after a few moments you found the words you wanted to say.

“Uh. It’s alright. A bit sore… It hurt more this morning, especially with Dr. O’Deorain touching it. That reminds me… Thanks. For saving me from her, I guess?”

“Don’t worry about it. She’s been stepping out of line a bit too much just because she strikes fear into the rest of the Council and is very close to the Successor. I’m the only one to say no to her it seems.” Reaper responded as his gaze fell on the same skyline you had been staring at for a while now. You looked down at the two beers left from the six-pack Sombra bought and picked up a new one.

“Want the last one? I already had one… This is my second.” You offered to your Commander. A part of you scolded yourself at the offer you made, as this was not how you were supposed to be acting to your literal Commander. Though Reaper contemplated your offer before reaching for the last bottle to your surprise. You popped yours open with the bottle opener left by Sombra and handed it off to Reaper.

“I haven’t had a drink in awhile… I don’t see the harm in one.”

“Same here. I dunno, I guess I never had the time or want to go drinking before, but with how things have been for me…” You trailed off as you stared back at the skyline, remembering a bit too late that you were supposed to act like you loved working here. Reaper took notice and finished for you,

“I gives you a reason to? Yeah. I understand… No one has a huge desire to be here, Y/n. We are all here because life pushed us here. Not necessarily because we chose to come here.”

“Even you?” You let yourself wonder aloud and Reaper popped the cap off of his bottle while he thought of how he should answer that.

“A little bit. Yeah… This wasn’t necessarily my plan A, but… Life likes to fuck things up along the way and this was a backup.”

“Like your plan B?”

“More like Plan E, but… You get the idea. We don’t want to be here. Talon wants us here because we have no other plans to fall back on.” He finished off, lifting the beer to his face and nudging his mask aside to drink it. Your face contorted into confusion as you were floored that he even had a face underneath his mask. You knew that he had to have something, he couldn’t have just been a shadow… Could he? He acted like one. Reaper noticed your gaze while your head tilted to the side a bit subconsciously. You always knew how to look cute and innocent without thinking about it. “What….” He muttered after setting his bottle down. “Don’t tell me you thought I had no mouth.” he jabbed and you found it hard to deny his comment.

“Kinda. You wear a mask all the time, has anyone ever seen your face without it on?” You leaned into the question as you brought your bottle of beer up to your lips to drink. This gave Reaper time to think that question through. Why did you feel so calm all of a sudden? Why were you asking questions like this with no hesitation to your Commander? Scratch that- a Council member to a terrorist organization even? Let alone… He was answering. He sat by you, is talking to you, and answering questions no one else would dare to answer.

Why?

“Only Dr. O’Deorain I suppose. No one else has in a few years.” Reaper answered honestly and thus satisfied your question. Silence fell between the two of you as you drank a bit and stared out at Rome’s lit-up skyline. 

“I haven’t done this in awhile…” He soon said after lowering his mask to hide the little bit of face he revealed. You couldn’t even see much due to the shadow his hood kept on his face…

“Done what?” You asked softly as you weren’t exactly sure what he was alluding to.

“Any of this. Stepping away completely. I usually come up here and know that when I go back down things will be the same… Though tonight it feels different.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I believe it is… For once it is.” He agreed as a breeze swept across the rooftop and brought life to your hair and clothing along with stray leaves from the dying trees below. You took a deep breath of this air allowing it to make you feel alive a bit more. Its temperature pierced your lungs and jolted you awake a bit more, reminding you of where you were and what you were doing. “You seem to get along very well with Sombra… During training and even afterward. Especially if you took a bullet for her.” Reaper soon started up a conversation again without warning.

“I believe we get along well. She’s not so bad as others come off to be around here… In a way, I see her like a dear friend I haven’t gotten to have in almost half a decade.” Your honesty came without any need to try.

“She is an interesting one. Sometimes she knows too much for her good and the good of others… What has she told you?” He then grumbled as he stared you down. His tone felt a little less friendly which happened without him noticing, not until he saw you coward away. The last thing he wanted to do was to strike fear into your heart… Not after all he had already done to you.

“Nothing much… Not as if she constantly tells me things.” You muttered and a feeling grew in the pit of your stomach. Heavy and yet so hard to pinpoint.

“About any of the Council members, like Dr. O’Deorain? About… Me?” He continued to question and you knew that you were being backed into a wall. Lying would be hard to pull off.

“All she has told me is that you were once part of Overwatch like I was.” You admitted and Reaper didn’t say a word. Never flinched, didn’t tense up, didn’t move… He was as still and emotionless as you always saw him but behind the mask, he was silently in shock and beginning to fear Sombra’s knowledge for once. “That’s all I know. I’m sure she said it just to calm my nerves… Though it does make sense why you can say such things about the organization. I know a few that were never happy with Overwatch, but they’re not around to argue that anymore.” You added to hopefully keep things light. You didn’t look at Reaper again as you glued your eyes to just the horizon. The thought of Gabriel came flooding back and your body struggled with its peace once again.

“No one deserved to die the day it all fell. No one.” You whispered soon on the verge of tears. Reaper saw this as his gaze never left you. He knew very well who you were talking about indirectly and he had to fight hard against an impulse to remove his mask and be honest with you. That Overwatch was alive, you were alive, and he was too… Everything you knew was far from dead and was actually right in front of you, just covered with shadows. How would you react to him though? You, a woman who barely aged physically these past five years, and all that was different was the light missing from your eyes, facing the man who was, for lack of a better term, a dead man walking. His skin not as rich, the scars he sported having multiplied and stood out more, his hair while it was soft was slightly greying out and the pigment in his eyes had lost that rich brown color and were an eerie red.

He wasn’t Gabriel anymore, and he feared that you would agree. Letting you know that he was alive in any way shape or form would just bring an unnecessary reaction and atmosphere to the already tainted and poisonous life he lived. He didn’t want to drag you down any further either. Though a part of him still wanted to be there for you, to be with you. Especially now as he watched you tear up and try to drink and act as if you were strong. You tried so hard to act the way Talon wanted because you had no other choice. He didn’t want you here… Even he didn’t want to be here anymore. When his world first crumbled and he learned that you were ‘dead’ after the explosion… Maybe then he ran on anger alone to end up here. Though all that anger vanished the moment he saw your face on the paper. You beautiful and innocent face, as the one person he wished to protect.

As you drank the last of your beer you suddenly found it hard to breathe and once again, you were noticing how your world was crumbling. Just because you didn’t have him. Just because you were here and despite being around some many new people, even gaining a friend you believed you could trust with your own life, you still felt alone. You set your glass down and broke your eye contact with the horizon… The fake Nirvana you dyed and warped to disguise it as so, as you struggled to take in a breath or let one out. Until you couldn’t take it and let out a sharp gasp, just like you were drowning.

The air was no longer crisp and sweet but almost sickening as your chest wracked with spasms and tears finally fell. Thus how the mighty fall. After building your walls, here they were falling all over again. All the hard work you put into believing you had gotten over losing everything again, you never truly had. Not only that, but this realization had to be done in front of Reaper. A voice in the back of your mind mocked how you would be seen as weak in his eyes… Talon would never see you as an asset now, but as weight they would need to let go. You didn’t care. You didn’t care if the Successor himself saw, but you needed to let this out before you drowned in your own sorrow.

While you shielded your face from the world’s view, the man beside you hesitated. To see you like this hurt him, his heart that was somehow still alive had the sensation of needles piercing its tissue. Without thinking much after that he placed a hand on your back, trying to be as gentle as possible like he would before. He felt his jaw grow sore from being clenched behind his mask as he felt like he was still holding himself back. He wanted to hug you, to hold you, and to remind you that everything would be okay as long as he was alive… How hypocritical, he said that before and look where you both had ended up.

Still, he found the courage to gently rub your back and use his other hand to lift your face, sending a chill throughout your body and a sharp intake of air. Your sobbing ceased as you held your breath and were forced to drop your hands to see this man comforting you. To him, he only saw himself comforting a woman he loved till the end of the Earth and back but you, you saw this terrifying and intimidating man you didn’t know until a week ago giving you sympathy and showing compassion. One mask changed a lot about a person’s perspective.

The gloved hand that rested on your face was warm, just like how it was earlier in the day when it rested on your shoulder… Especially as it was used to wipe away fresh tears which felt like they were freezing to your face in the lowering temperatures. He never said a word, and neither did you… Perhaps that was for the best. Or perhaps there was no need for them at a time like this. Little by little, your shoulders relaxed again and you let out a shaky breath you forgot you were holding. Your storm has passed and all that remained were your flushed cheeks and reddened eyes, along with your breathing still a bit uneven…

“You’re a very caring soul, Y/n… You’ll be okay. Everything will be okay.” Reaper finally whispered. You almost didn’t catch his words, as they seemed so out of character to him. Though he had to have said something since he then cleared his throat and looked back to the sky. “I think you should head inside. You’re as cold as ice… Go have dinner, and get some rest. That’s an order.” His voice sounded thousands of miles away as you once again were left without a voice.

All you could do was pick up your empty beer bottles and the empty case while you rose to your feet… You didn’t even say a thank you to him for his kind words, as you still couldn’t distinguish if your mind made it up or not. You turned on your heel and then quickly left… Leaving the hollowed man to question what he did and if he could keep this charade up any longer before you would be put in danger again.


	16. Chapter 16: The Darkest Place

You didn’t think you would find yourself combing the hallways with a look of fear and anguish. Then again, you didn’t think he would just storm out all of a sudden when you went to ask him about his day. Never say a word to your face… No: “Hey, sure!”, no: “I'm glad you asked!”, not even a simple: “Hey, I’m not up for talking about it.”. Where had he gone in such a huff? What was going on? You just wanted the truth. You wanted peace.

“Y/n? What’s wrong?” a hand latched onto your wrist and you wanted so badly to pull it away and keep running, but who had done so made you stop. It was Lena… “You’re running around faster than I possibly can, what’s the matter?” her hazel eyes filled with concern at your stern expression and frazzled exterior.

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong.” You pulled your hand away and Lena couldn’t hold on, but she refused to drop this.

“Maybe you should go to Angela. Y/n, you don’t look good at all! Why haven’t you been to training? Not even coming to eat lunch with Angela and me? I just don’t understand, love…” Lena egged on and you took a step back. You didn’t have time to argue this! You had to find Gabriel.

“Look, I need to go.” You insisted and Lena went to speak up but you already began to take off down the hallway. She could only assume that she would see you later and hopefully, you could talk things over. She worried about you… Neither knew that it would be the last time you would see one another. At least for another five years…

You refused to give up searching, even as your legs grew tired and your breathing was far from stable. I ran around until you came to the training room usually empty around this time of day, but just your luck there was one body in the room. That body being the one you were searching for. Gabriel took whatever anger and sadness he had pent up out on a punching bag within the room. You pushed the double doors to the room open and hissed,

“Gabe, what the fuck!” You could hear the man mumble a personal curse under his breath while he gripped the punching bag. Most would fear him, but as you stormed into the room… You didn’t. You couldn’t. Not after all you had both been through. 

“Y/n. I said I didn’t want to talk.” He had the audacity to grumble with stern eyes and you knew that talking to him wouldn’t do anything, but your anger was just as present if not stronger than his at this moment. 

“No, this isn’t about talking. Gabriel, this is about you just up and storming away…” You hissed. This caused the man to roll his eyes and your anger only boiled more as he turned back to the punching bag.

“Look, fine. Sorry.”

“Do you take me for an idiot? This isn’t the first time you’ve dodged my questions! You have been practically avoiding me!” You argued. You knew better than to accept his petty excuse for a real one. Apologies or not, you just wanted answers now.

“What do you want from me!” Gabe barked back and while his voice turned razor-sharp, you refused to back away now.

“The truth, Gabe. I want the fucking truth. Why have you been avoiding me, what has been putting you on edge like this… What have you been doing behind my back?” You stepped forward and Gabe then wasted no time picking up his few items to start walking away, “You can’t just keep running from me!”

“Watch me.” That hurt, another bullet in your heart which was stitched beyond belief. That didn’t matter now… It could be mended later. Right?

“Gabe! Why can’t you tell me? What is so important that you have to hide it from even me? Last I checked, you didn’t care about confidentiality when it came to shit like this! What is so important now?” You insisted and the man only gave you a half glance over his shoulder. His eyes were still cold, his face stern, and his overall form becoming more and more unknown to you. It was like he was changing right before your eyes… His skin was slightly paler. His eyes were always a little less kind, comparing to the summertime to the middle of winter, it was as if he was dying.

He couldn’t have been that distraught over Ana Amari’s death… and while Overwatch was falling, it had been for over half a year. Why would he care now? You did know he was avoiding you more and something was fishy around here. He was up to something and God forbid would you let him keep something important hidden from you if it was impacting your relationship this much.

“I just can’t tell you. You forget who’s in charge here, Y/n.” His voice held an edge that warned you to not press forward. Though you were young, foolish, and you were your own type of hot-headed.

“Yeah. Last I checked, it isn’t you.” You struck back and you instantly felt the tension your words brought. Like a whip cracking mid-air, all parts of the conversation drew to a halt. Your works struck Gabe hard. That was the point, but was it worth it? His jaw was set clenched and his hands balled into fists. You wished he would try to hit you, just so it gave you a reason to leave now and never look back. Though would you really?

How could you walk away now? How could you walk away from all you knew? How could you walk away from all that you loved? Even Gabriel…

Speaking of Gabriel, he never fully turned to look at you. Instead, he did the opposite and just walked away. He never gave you the satisfaction of a response… And part of you saw that what you said was going to be hard to come back from. He already had issues with not being the one in charge of Overwatch, and Morrison being the Strike Commander instead. You preyed upon that and was it worth it, truly?

You decided to let him go. Tears rising to the surface, waiting for the door to shut fully before you sobbed and collapsed to the floor in a piled mess. 

  
  


****

  
  


The world was suddenly a haze. A mess. Maybe your brain had issues pinpointing it all because you had already cried so much to mess up your perception. Or maybe your brain was doing its best to protect you from the trauma by recalling as little as possible. It amazed you how you didn't gain any sort of PTSD as you would think about it later on.

It started with a fire alarm. Never had you heard the fire alarm within the base without a warning first of a drill. You had moved yourself to a different room, unable to remember which one for some reason. Maybe a rec room? Maybe just a random room you decided to hide within from the pain you were feeling. Though your thoughts and feelings would be halted at the sound of the fire alarm. Stepping out into the hallway showed you the chaos that was ensuing around you. Other agents running around, it was madness at its finest. What was causing this? What had happened? All of this flooded your consciousness before you finally thought: ‘I need to find Gabriel’.

The hallways within your memory seemed foggy, swirled, distorted… Almost unkind as they had once been for you all those years prior. How could a place such as Overwatch become so foreign to you in a matter of moments? So many different pieces to the story and while people ran away, you ran looking for him. You would be damned if your last conversation with one another would be what it was. An argument, with hate and malice that you didn’t mean. You would beg for forgiveness before dying if this was the case… As more time passed, that did indeed seem to be the outcome.

Smoke clouded the corridors and caused your eyes to sting and your lungs to feel as if they were on fire, even as you were forced to hug the floor to keep from suffocating. People became scarce and you began to doubt your decisions… What if he just left? He could have easily left the building and here you were, risking your life for nothing and no one. That was until you heard shouting and gunfire.

“Gabriel?” You strained to hear which direction the shouts came from but you prayed that whoever was in a gunfight was and was not Gabriel Reyes. If it was, at least you knew this pilgrimage was not for nothing but a part of you didn’t want him to be here when the building was mostly smoke and ash around you. You had nothing else to do but follow the sound of shouting and gunfire. The voices would get louder and clearer… One you could hear clear as day as Commander Jack Morrison as well as the second being Gabe’s.

“This ends now Reyes! All of this!” Morrison called out as you did your best to narrow down where they were. Their commotion led you to a larger open room. One used for general commands and consol hubs.

“Over my fucking dead body Jack!” Gabe shouted and hearing his voice as coarse and harsh as it was at this moment made your stomach lurch and your inner being hurt. “If you wanted to be Captain so bad, then go down with your ship like one.”

“Is this what this is all about? Some petty bullshit? Just because I have a different title than you?” Jack argued back as another shot rang out and you flinched.

“It isn’t just the title! It was this, all of it. The leadership, the power, the success! You know for damn sure you weren’t meant to get all of this, but just because you could talk your way out of shit you got this position! The title was mine from day one. Instead, I got shoved into the shadows… Literally!”

“This is truly the stupidest thing you have ever fought with me over!”

“If you were in my position, you would be as angry as I am!” Gabe grunted as the two broke into a gunfight once more. You did your best to move in without getting shot but you knew you had to stop this fight before someone ended up dead. Sacrificing the health of your lungs you pulled yourself up on a railing to stand and look over at what you had been heading. While you were on a slightly elevated level, Gabriel and Jack had their confrontation on the ground using hubs to hide behind and shield themselves from the other’s attack. Many of the computers were destroyed and it could be seen that electrical fires had sparked here and could be what caused the fires elsewhere…

Neither of them noticed you watching with your knuckled pure white while you gripped the railing and tried to make sense of what was happening before you. You couldn’t move as your mind fought with itself. Do you run and get help? Do you intervene? Do you make it out while you still have a slight possible chance? You just stood there.

“Stop while you still can, Gabe! This won’t get you anywhere! All you are doing is throwing more dirt onto your name!”

“My name is already dead! I’m seeing this through! I will die here, and you are going down with me Morrison! I have men on my side to assure it!” Gabe argued back as he gripped one of his shotgun-like weapons and peered around the hub to where he heard Morrison’s voice. His usually warm eyes were now full of hate and a desire for blood to be spilled. How did this man you loved for months turn into a monster before your very eyes… Why didn’t you see this in the making? Why didn’t you look closer to stop it? Why… Why?

“What? What have you done?” Morrison shouted back as you caught sight of the Strike Commander hiding not too far behind another hub gripping his pulse rifle awaiting what was to come. You never thought you would see that man express true fear, but from the look on his face, that thought was a lie. You were not the only one in the room who wasn’t full of quaking fear and dread, Gabriel seemed as if he was the only one who didn’t seem fazed by this.

All you knew was that you had to get away, you couldn’t step between them… Not when time was running out and you weren’t sure what the outcome would bring. Maybe you could run outside and inform someone of Gabriel and Commander Morrison. You took a hesitant step back with that possible plan in mind when Gabe responded to Commander Morrison’s question.

“I had this planned for a while. This entire organization was a mistake, its intentions were flawed and those who have run it have failed those they wished to protect. This is simply where it ends Jack.” Before he fired at the hidden commander’s location, Morrison was forced to move lower to the ground in an attempt to not get shot. You bit your tongue to keep yourself silent before you forced yourself to leave. You weren’t sure what would happen to Gabriel if he and Commander Morrison made it out of this after you informed others… Though that wasn’t what was exactly running through your head at the moment. You were more focused on making it out alive. The smoke and heat from the surrounding fires were still an obstacle, and parts of the building were starting to fail.

Some hallways were now blocked off, and from what you could see, most people were gone… Those that remained were most likely not very much alive either. This was yet another part of memory that grew fuzzy. You ran, and ran, your lungs ached, your muscles burned, and you weren’t sure where the exit even was anymore. That was until a deep rumble happened, it felt like a strong force was fast approaching which brought down more parts of the building above you. Ceiling and beams came crashing you down and the last thing you could let out was a shriek before the world went black.

  
  


****

  
  


You woke from your sleep with a horrible start so much that Sombra actually had rolled over to see your trouble. Her eyes express that she was far from completely coherent at the moment, but she could understand that you were not in the best place at this time.

“Querida amiga… ¿Qué pasa?” She croaked as she sat up and rubbed her face. The faint purple glow from some of her electronics left on in the dark room gave off a sense of comfort that the world for you was no longer pitch black.

“I had a bad dream…” You assumed that this was what she wanted to know as she had reverted to her native tongue in her drowsy state. The Latina woman hummed and looked at you from her side of the room with her hand holding up her head.

“A bad dream? Want to talk about it? You don’t seem like the type of girl to usually get upset so easily over a dream… Was it about Talon? If so, then I hate to say you’re screwed but…”

“It wasn’t about Talon. It was about Overwatch. Overwatch falling. I don’t get those dreams often anymore. Though I feel as of lately I have been testing myself once again, and he just keeps coming back to mind.”

“He?... Oh, Gabriel Reyes. RIght?” Sombra began to wake up as she had even stood up to stretch as she moved through the darkness to her mini-fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. Handing one to you as she took it upon herself to sit at the foot of your bed and actually talk with you. It made your shoulders unwind and your senses relax as you knew you had Sombra here to help you. For once you had a friend to lean on… It was a luxury you hadn't had in a long time.

“Yeah. It was… I thought I knew that man like the back of my hand. As weird as it would sound, I honestly thought I had met my soulmate in the oddest location. We understood one another. Sure, we were decades apart in age, but… That didn’t matter to me. I didn’t have anyone else. He was all I had.”

“You lost your family too Y/n?” Sombra wondered as she drank her water and let you drop the heavy baggage you had weighted onto you.

“Yeah… I lost my family after a bad earthquake hit the West Coast of the US back when I was a teenager. I always used to say “They’re not dead, they’re just displaced. No one ever found the bodies!” No one ever found my body either and they claimed I was dead. That puts a lot into perspective for me now. Though I had lost them all and connecting with Gabriel I felt as if we understood one another. How he had lost everything as well, especially between his ex-wife after he joined Overwatch. I thought Gabriel and I meeting one another was pure luck and was possibly even fate. I thought the world had finally stopped being cruel, and I had found the man of my dreams and hopes in a place I would have been spending the rest of my life in anyway.

“I thought… I thought Overwatch would be forever. I simply just didn’t see that Gabe was upset. He was hurting more than I could even comprehend. A part of me even believes the months we spent together were just his attempts to try and make himself happy, and when nothing was working… He just threw it all in and gave up. He tried bringing everyone down with him. He destroyed many lives. He killed Commander Morrison, so many other Overwatch members, and even himself. He almost killed me. He basically did!” You rubbed your cheek and felt how clammy your skin was. You were distressed over relieving those memories. “Gabriel destroyed everything, and destroyed what we had planned for ourselves… He destroyed himself. I-... I wish our last words to one another just wasn’t some petty argument.” You felt your throat close with emotions and Sombra heard how your voice cracked ever so slightly and she scooted closer to bring you comfort.

“Aw… Mamacita, none of that was ever your fault. He was probably not in the right mind. You didn’t deserve what happened to you there, and I’m sure one day, maybe you’ll get closure.” Sombra picked and chose her words wisely as she knew more than meets the eye. She knew that the man who now haunted your dreams was the man you had only talked to hours before on the roof. When you came back to Sombra after the event, nervous and anxious about what had happened between you and Reaper, she was silently panicking over what he was thinking of doing. She wasn’t sure if Reaper was planning on keeping up his tough act as a chair member of the council, or if he was trying to reclaim his name as Gabriel Reyes. She would talk to him herself about this, and as she saw it… You were her biggest concern over whatever he planned to do.

“Maybe… I think seeing Lena didn’t help. I just hope whatever demons I’m fighting decide to settle themselves in two weeks. Especially with who we will be facing.” You mumbled as you looked down at your hands. You felt a gentle hand caress your back, Sombra’s hand, as she attempted to keep you calm.

“You’ll be fine, Y/n. I’ll be with you on the mission. I’m sure others will be as well. You probably won’t be facing them either. Everything will be fine.” Sombra assured with her usual light and carefree tone. The same tone she first greeted you with, you began to feel true comfort in.

“Thank you, Olivia.” You spoke sincerely and the Latina woman rolled her eyes.

“Pulling out my real name? I’m honored amiga… You owe me for the therapy session though,” She started as she got up and checked the clock. “You took up the last thirty minutes of our precious beauty sleep.”

“Ah, sorry there. How about lunch on me next time we get time to eat out?”

“Sounds like a wonderful deal to me!” Sombra agreed as she turned on the lights and the two of you began to get ready for the day. 


End file.
